The Serpent in the Shadows
by Tonymorgan002
Summary: 4 years after the Battle of Hogwarts, the war is still raging between the Ministry and the surviving Death Eaters. Harry is an aspiring Auror who can't seem to come to terms with his own depression, but when a case leads him to rescue a kindred spirit, can she help bring him back from the edge? Or only push him further along? (previously the Lion & The Snake)
1. Chapter 1

4 years after the Battle of Hogwarts, the war is still raging between the Ministry and the surviving Death Eaters. Harry is an aspiring Auror who can't seem to come to terms with his own depression, but when a case leads him to rescue a kindred spirit, can she help bring him back from the edge? Or only push him further along?

Rated M For: Language, explicit sexual content, general brutality, excessive alchohol abuse, and other adult content.

You have been warned :)

A/N: Formatting of any given chapter may not be correct at immediate publication. I only write when I am at work using google Docs, and when I copy from Google docs to the website the formatting can sometimes get messed up in the process. Any time this happens the chapter will be fixed as soon as I am able to be back at my computer.

Apologies in advance

xxxx

Voldemort was dead, but that didn't mean the war was over. Wizarding Britain had clawed its way through four brutal years wrought with bloody battles, living in fear of what the next day would bring. The Dark Lord's followers continued to carry his banner even after he was killed, fighting for the cause they had rallied to support.

The years post-war had seen an uprising in young men and women conscripted straight out of Hogwarts into the Auror academy. The turnover rate was at its highest point in history, it seemed every day more and more of the warriors of the light were turning up dead or missing. Many people had thought that the death toll would still once the Dark Lord was killed, but if anything it had increased. Without leadership or a focused agenda, the Death Eaters had become a chaotic force of destruction throughout Europe.

It hadn't taken long for Harry Potter to be sworn into the ranks. After all, who would deny the Chosen One? He who had dueled the Dark Lord and lived, who had single handedly vanquished the most powerful dark wizard to ever live. Harry had risen in the ranks, far quicker than anyone had anticipated. He excelled at his job, having grown into a highly capable wizard in his own right. Looking back sometimes he wondered if his fame had anything to do with his position, but he liked to think that he had earned it. Countless numbers of Death Eaters had been killed or captured by Harry's hand. He always tried to take them alive, but most times they were more inclined to take the less than peaceful road once surrounded. Harry suspected that part of that may have to do with who it was they were confronted with, there was a price on his head above any other, Voldemort's lap dogs hadn't taken too kindly to Harry destroying their leader and effectively turning the tide of the battle that they had been so convinced would be their great victory.

As it was, Harry currently found himself bunked in a cabin in the woods in southern Wales with four other highly skilled Aurors. The mission was to track down Rodolphus Lestrange. Kingsley himself, as acting minister, had given Harry the case, and even allowed him to hand pick the team that accompanied had been extremely busy since Voldemort's fall, suspected to have been the one to rally the troops and keep them going, he was implicated in dozens of murders, and many other disappearances. Bottom line? He was a big player that needed to be weeded out.

Harry looked uneasily to his right to see Ron staring blankly into his hands, and he wondered if he should have even involved his best friend in the case. Rodolphus had led a team into The Burrow not long after the battle of Hogwarts, looking for Harry. They had broken past the wards, and in a brutal and bloody display of revenge for his now dead spouse, Rodolphus had singled out Molly Weasley and taken it upon himself to avenge Bellatrix. It had happened in slow motion for Harry, trying to push through the crowd to reach the closest thing he had ever had to a mother, but he had been too late. In a gut wrenching flash of green light Harry had watched, stunned, as her lifeless form crumpled into the dirt. The Death Eaters had fled after that - out of fear or accomplishment, Harry didn't know. As the family gathered around their fallen matriarch, all Harry could think of past the numbness in his mind, was that he would tear Lestrange limb from limb with his bare hands if he ever got the chance.

Now, three years later, it looked like Harry and Ron would have their chance.

Maps and graphs were piled high on the table in the center of the room. The cabin was sparse, devoid of any distractions, devoid of anything really save for necessities. Every man in this case understood the gravity and impact, the importance of finding Lestrange. He was a key leader in the Death Eater's war effort, and removing him from play would assuredly give the ministry the upper hand. Ron looked as tense as Harry felt, white knuckling the table as he stared absently at the map in front of him. They'd been here for two weeks, scoping out the security measures employed around the countryside manor where Lestrange and his men were hiding. Both young men knew this would be a turning point for them, both of them knew what they were here to do, and the gravity of bringing Molly's killer to justice was weighing on them.

Sooner rather than later, the time came, after months of searching, planning, briefing, studying, and scouting, the time was finally here to move against the stronghold.

Nerves ran rampant as the five men, under the cloak of a cloudy summer night, crept through the forest towards their destination. Harry felt his stomach turn to lead the closer they got to their destination, and he felt the tremors in his hands start. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn't just a fearless hero charging into glorious battle. Harry had been through enough of these raids to know how bloody they could be, how brutal, and how quickly things could turn south.

Ron threw up a hand and the men stopped in their tracks, lowering into defensive positions. Harry's keen eeyes had picked up what Ron had seen at almost the exact same time, and the two of them knelt to the ground gently pushing leaves aside. There was a faintly pulsing rune carved into the ground at their feet, emitting a ghostly pale green light that had been covered under a layer of leaves and brush. Ron traced the tip of his wand over the rune, muttering incantations faintly under his breath until the light faded. Ron was what Harry considered the "security expert" of the group. During Auror training he had specialized in detecting and breaking down wards. With his brother Bill being a curse breaker, and dating Hermione who was proficient in ancient runes, Harry hadn't been surprised in the least when his best friend had turned out to be highly capable at frying Death Eater defenses.

The group moved stealthily through the woods for what seemed like hours, stopping every few minutes to nullify a rune, to deactivate a ward, or disarm a trap, and as far as they could tell, they hadn't yet been detected. The pit in Harry's stomach grew deeper and deeper as the large manor loomed over them, silhouetted in the moonlight. It was an ancient palace with twisting steel spires and dark, dingy windows, and Harry could sense the dark magic permeating the estate like the fetid stench of infection from an open wound.

Harry turned slowly to look at his men, taking them in, memorizing details, each and every one of them knew that there was a chance that one or more, even all of them would be dead before morning. They were outnumbered, and the Death Eaters had the home court advantage. He nodded, and as one unit the aurors each made the swirling motions around themselves with their wands that would disillusion them, they had reached the end of the tree line, and now it was an open lawn between them and the manse.

Unease searing in Harry's veins, he gave the command to proceed, and as one highly polished unit, the aurors fanned out across the yard. Everyone knew the plan, they had studied it, recited it, practiced it, for months they had honed their precision, and now it was time to execute it. Harry and Ron veered around to the back door, while the others crept to the front. Weeks had been spent planning the entry alone, it would be the most crucial part of the raid - surprising their prey was key. Harry looked at his watch, the entire team's were synchronized. He counted down the seconds to himself. Blood pounded in Harry's ears as the "Reducto!" left his lips. The heavy oak door in front of him blasted inwards with the force of an invisible cannon, and Harry heard a similar sound come from the front.

Instant chaos erupted upon their entrance, Harry barely had time to survey his surroundings before he was dodging a flare of yellow light, which grazed his arm and left a stinging bloody trail across his bicep. Auror training and his natural reflexes kicked in and Harry was ducking spells and slinging his own back towards the source. The room was dark and it was hard to see who was who. Harry and his men were wary of friendly fire, but they had no time to sort it out. Harry flung his wand up and a large wooden chair soared into the air to his right and took the brunt of a hot jet of crimson light that had been racing straight for his head. Senses overwhelmed by the smells, sounds, and lights erupting around the room, Harry did his best to assess his surroundings. Flinging a jet of gold light into a nearby opponent's chest, Harry ducked behind a wall just in time to see the man crumple to the ground. The wall exploded behind his head and Harry crouched to the floor to avoid being pelted by chunks of plaster and stone. Looking across the entryway, he saw Ron in a similar position, firing off curses from over the top of an upturned desk. Ron nodded to him and as one they sent a barrage of spells in the same direction, which resulted in a gratifying scream as Harry's confringo charm set their target on fire at the same time Ron's Reductor curse threw him into a wall.

Taking advantage of the momentary lapse in curses flying their way, the two friends simultaneously surged forward to the next available spot of cover they could find, a jet of purple light barely missing Ron's head just as he ducked behind a wall. Harry made short work of the latest opponent with a wordless flash of green light, there was no time to consider saving as many of the scumbags as possible, they needed to get upstairs before Rodolphus found a way to escape. Ron gave Harry a knowing look, the silent approval noted - deadly force was needed. Hoping his men could hear over the roar of battle Harry pointed his wand to his throat and bellowed as loud as he could manage "Shoot to kill boys! We gotta get to Lestrange!"

At first the team's new tactics took the Death Eaters by surprise, giving the aurors the upper hand as they tore through the ranks, but soon enough the enemy had adapted to the new flow of battle, and the game became more dangerous as both sides were no longer pulling any stops. Harry, heart pounding, watched as the tip of a wand poked around the corner he was using as cover, as soon as the owner's arm followed suit Harry grabbed it and snapped it backwards repeatedly slamming it into the wall until the fingers released their grasp on the wand. Harry yanked the hooded figure towards him and felt a snap as his fist collided with the man's nose. Fingers came up to claw at his face as Harry ruthlessly snapped his neck, causing the lifeless death eater to fall to the floor. Magic wasn't the only part of a well rounded Auror training after all, close quarter combat called for more physical measures. Harry was always sickened by the brutality when he was forced to kill in such a manner, but hesitation for even a second, had gotten many a better Auror than Harry killed. Kneeling down Harry pulled back the hood, identifying the masked man as Macnair, the deranged executioner who had once tried to take Buckbeak from Hagrid.

After what seemed like hours, but was probably only minutes, Harry and Ron reached the spiraling staircase at the other side of the room. Looking out over the room to survey the battle Harry could see, to his relief, that while bloody and bruised, each of his men were intact. Leaving the rest of the team to hold back the seemingly endless wave of black hooded figures, Harry and Ron vaulted the stairs 2 at a time, Harry throwing another masked psychopath over the bannister as he charged down the stairs towards them.

Harry could feel his heart thudding from exertion and excitement as they reached the top floor landing, settling into defensive positions with their wands at the ready, the two friends crept down the suspiciously empty hallway. Silently checking each room on the way down the hall, Harry's unease grew greater as the lack of opposition on the upper floor became apparent. There was no doubt that Rodolphus was a capable wizard, but surely he hadn't left the entirety of his force downstairs to fight and left himself unprotected.

At last Harry and Ron stood before a massive oak door at the end of the hall, contemplating their entry. He knew they were coming, this was going to be tricky. Just as Harry reached for the door handle, the entire thing exploded outward in a roar of flame and shower of splintered oak, knocking Harry back into Ron, sending both of them stumbling backwards flat onto their backs. Winded and coughing Harry fought to regain his orientation as the hallway filled with a dark cloud of smoke and licking tongues of dancing emerald flame. "Fuck!" Harry yelled "Ron it's fiendfyre!"Ron seemed not to have paid the slightest bit of attention to Harry as he was already back on his feet, charging back down the hall. Even from his position on the floor Harry could see the murder in his friend's eyes. Still stunned from the impact Harry couldn't bring himself to get up just yet, but after a second he was able to roll himself over and heave himself up, trying to quickly regain his footing and go after Ron before he got himself killed.

With an arm shielding his face from the ever growing flames Harry burst into the room with his wand at the ready, to see curses flashing back and forth as fast as he'd ever seen them. Ron had grown into an accomplished duelist during his time as an Auror, but here he was driven by pure hatred and adrenaline. It was a beautiful thing to watch as the two men circled back and forth in almost a dance. Colorful magic whirled around them as their wands and hands moved faster than the eye could track. Jets of flame erupted from Rodolphus' wand and Ron froze them in mid air, throwing the giant shards of ice back at their caster. Rodolphus threw up a giant golden shield and the ice fell away harmlessly. He hurled the shield at Ron and it became a spinning golden blade, lethally cutting through the air. Just before it made contact with Ron's torso, he ducked under it and flung a jet of flame back towards Rodolphus. Harry had watched Ron duel enough at the academy, and in their own off time sparring sessions, to already know what direction Ron was taking this. Without Rodolphus noticing, Ron had slowly inched closer and closer between spells. As Rodolphus raised his wand to sling the next curse, Ron charged, and grabbing the older man by the front of his robes, bashed skulls with him in a crunch that made Harry dizzy from across the room. Harry knew he should stop Ron from beating Rodolphus to death, but half of him was jealous that he wasn't doing it himself. Harry could hear the wet smacking sounds over and over as Ron's fist collided with the older man's face, and finally Harry pulled him off. "Ron stop!" He yelled.

"Harry this bastard killed my mother! You were right there! You want him dead as much as I do!" Ron screamed back in Harry's face, the venom in his eyes unlike anything Harry had ever seen. Before Harry could react, Ron's eyes went wide as a jet of deep purple splayed across his back, dissipating in a wide splash of miasmatic color. "RON!" Harry cried out, as he slowly helped his friend to the floor, there was a pulse, but he was unconscious. Rodolphus was leering at Harry from the floor across the room, his wand still raised. Before he knew what he was doing Harry had crossed the room and kicked the man as hard as he could in the chest sending him collapsing back to the floor. Harry's wand was up and ready as soon as his foot landed, and Rodolphus barely had time to raise his own as Harry yelled "Avada Kedavra!"

Two jets of emerald light collided in a violent explosion that rocked the entire house.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry stood in front of the mirror taking in his reflection with a critical eye. His tie was crooked, his eyes were dark and baggy from lack of sleep, and he was sighed, and ran his hand through his shaggy black hair, wondering when he would quit having to bury friends. It had been two weeks since Wales, and Harry hadn't slept much. One of the things he loved about being in the field was that the focus made the nightmares stop.

Harry could still picture Lestrange's leering face right before the explosion, still picture Ron going wide eyed as the curse made contact with his back. He could still see the bodies of two of his men lying in crumpled heaps among the death eater's they'd slain. He could still see Macnair's blank expression as he collapsed lifelessly to the floor. He could still smell the stench of scorched flesh as the fiendfyre had spread to the rest of the house, which was more like a tomb at that point, and enveloped the bodies of the fallen. Harry hadn't even been able to retrieve his men's bodies to bring home to their families. Ron and Dean had dragged Harry from the building, still groggy from the explosion. He'd tried to go back, but there was no getting back in, the entire building had been consumed in a dark magical fire that couldn't be put out. Harry had watched in horror as the whole building had come crashing down, entombing the last physical remains of two good men whom Harry had bled for many a time over.

Harry shook his head and took another gulp of the glass of firewhiskey on his desk. He was going to be late to the funeral. The ministry had a gala planned, a no holds barred memorial service honoring the two fallen war heroes. Harry himself was to present medals to each of the two men's wives.

During the memorial, Kingsley spoke of honor, of courage, of bravery, and sacrifice. Harry shook his head. No amount of praise was going to bring his friends back.

When it came time, Harry did his due diligence and presented the medals to the two women, and after seeing the brokenhearted looks on their faces, headed straight to the bar in the back. He sat next to Ron, who was already halfway through his glass, and hailed the bartender. "Ogden's" he grunted, and the bartender went off to grab a bottle. The rest of the evening went by in a blur, possibly caused by one too many shots on Harry's part, and the midnight hour found him stumbling backwards into his apartment being hastily undressed by some witch who surely just wanted to add the Chosen One to her collection of bedpost notches. Harry didn't mind, it kept him numb, kept him from thinking about anything, from feeling anything.

The next morning Harry was aware that he was dying before he even opened his eyes. His head felt like it would explode any minute, his tongue was swollen in his mouth, and his throat was more dry than it had any right to be. Groaning Harry opened his eyes and dared a peek at the other side of the bed, which thankfully was empty. Harry hated awkward mornings. After a quick shower, a large breakfast, and about half a pot of coffee, Harry's head started to clear a little bit, and he decided he had better make an appearance at work. Harry may be the "poster boy of the ministry" as they so claimed, but he wasn't above attendance discipline.

Harry had put off doing the paperwork on Wales for as long as possible, and his superiors had been more than understanding, given the losses they had suffered. He sat for over an hour with his head buried in his hands staring blankly at the papers, rage swelling up in him. He was angry, angry at Voldemort, angry at Lestrange, angry at the ministry for not sending more men, angry at himself for surviving when so many people had died. Harry swept his arm across his desk in a terrorizing outburst, knocking the paperwork to the floor, and blasted the first thing he could find off his desk with a quick curse.

The picture frame shattered into the wall, glass clattering to the floor, and Harry walked over to see that it was a framed picture of him with the Weasley family. Harry ran his fingers over Ginny's face, tears welling in his eyes. She had loved him until the moment she took her last breath, and he had pushed her away to protect her. Harry had feelings for Ginny, but never had the opportunity to grow to love her the way she had loved him. He had always thought he was protecting her by staying away, because if he had died it would have destroyed her. So many people had died, and yet here Harry stood, in a lush office, a successful auror, living the life she'd had snatched away so violently.

Harry quickly repaired the frame on the picture and delicately set it back on his desk. His family had been ripped to shreds by the war, and Harry knew that no matter how many Death Eaters he brought to justice, it would never bring them back.

Glancing at the clock, Harry cursed, he was late for court.

Harry sat through six hours of grueling trials, several Death Eaters and Death Eater sympathizers were brought to trial, many of which Harry had apprehended himself. Sentences were passed, lives and deaths were decided. Several were shipped off to Azkaban, while only a select few were convicted of crimes so heinous that they had earned the death sentence.

What made Harry's blood boil, as always, were the deals that were cut.

He understood the necessity of gaining intelligence on the enemy, but these monsters had ruined so many lives. They had killed, stolen, and manipulated, and they would walk free just for giving up a few names. If Harry had had his way, he would have carted them off to Azkaban after learning what they had to give. Deal or no deal.

Harry mused at one such deal, half the people in front of him today had been brought in on intelligence they had gained from Lucius Malfoy. The Malfoy family had been exonerated of all crimes, based on the fact that they had switched sides before Voldemort's death, but more to do with the fact that Narcissa Malfoy may be the only reason that Harry Potter lived through the war. Harry had stood in this very courtroom what seemed like not so long ago, and testified on the Malfoy's behalf, only for Narcissa and what she had done for him. In exchange for Lucius being cleared of his crimes, he had been slowly feeding the ministry information from the inside for four years. As far as the Death Eaters were concerned he was still a prestigious member of their little society.

Draco Malfoy had settled down with the youngest Greengrass sister, trying to distance himself as far as he could from his father's legacy. Last Harry had heard, he'd been working in Diagon Alley trying to earn his own way instead of depending on his father's money. Harry had to at least respect the attempts at reform, even if he would always see Draco as the insipid little prat that he was at Hogwarts.

Lost in thought, Harry made his way back upstairs to the Law Enforcement floor, there was supposed to be a meeting with Kingsley about another high profile case that had come in. Even so soon after returning, Harry was anxious to get back into the field if only to keep his mind off the things that had plagued it lately.

Stepping into The Auror department's briefing room, Harry made his way over to the large rectangular table in the center and languidly took his seat, he was early, but there wasn't much else for him to do today. Looking around, Harry tried to find some indication as to what the case involved but the details hadn't been posted yet. He smiled to himself, usually the room was prepared before the meeting started, and the only reason to do otherwise meant that it was a high profile, top security clearance, sensitive mission. Those were Harry's favorite kind.

As the meeting progressed, Harry began to feel a crushing sensation of guilt. He had never been one to be a sympathizer to old enemies, but he couldn't help feeling like he'd been directly responsible for what had happened.

Perseus Parkinson had been arrested some weeks ago, on suspicions of Death Eater activity. While he had been cleared of charges after strenuous investigation, it seemed maybe he had known more than he was letting on. Perseus hadn't given the ministry a scrap of information, but it seemed like the Death Eaters may be in fear that he had. They had kidnapped his only child, without ransom. The lack of ransom could only lead the experienced minds at the ministry to believe she was going to be executed for her father's perceived treason.

Harry had never been on specifically friendly terms with Pansy Parkinson, the opposite really. She had been a terror to Harry and his friends all throughout their years at Hogwarts, she had even tried to sell Harry out to Voldemort. Looking back on that moment now, Harry understood why she had done it, she was a scared teenager who didn't understand why the life of one seventeen year old boy could possibly outweigh the safety of everyone inside Hogwarts. Harry held no resentment for her actions. Despite the utter shitstorm Pansy had put Harry and his friends through, he couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly guilty about her predicament. He knew all too well the horrors that took place in the Death Eater dungeons. Harry after all, had been the one to arrest and testify against Pansy's father in court. He had been the lead investigator on her father's case, he had been the one to raid Parkinson manor.

As much as Harry absolutely disliked Pansy Parkinson, he couldn't take the thought of anyone else dying because of him, of any more blood on his already overly stained hands.

Harry had spoken up during the meeting and volunteered to take his team in for the extraction. He'd been met with opposition from all sides, the board of directors stating that, while this case was high profile, it wasn't a big enough deal to deploy Harry's unit, which was usually reserved for only the highest security risk missions. Harry had argued and debated and given Kingsley the most pleading looks he could muster, he needed to do this, and he needed Kingsley to understand that.

Finally the board had relented when Harry had threatened to storm the manor himself without a ministry authorized team to back him up. They had finally seen reason at the thought of losing their "prized asset" as the emotionless board of defense directors so lovingly liked to refer to Harry. So with that battle won, Harry had swept from the room with all the briefing files he needed in hand, he needed a day or so to go over the files and put together a team, and he hoped it wouldn't be too late.

xxxx

It was dark, it was dark and she couldn't move. The latest round of beatings from Rowle had left her in a heap of tattered robes on the cold dungeon floor, and she had lost track of the days, she was giving up was no pattern, no rhyme or reason to what was happening. They just came whenever they were in a foul mood. One of them would beat her until something broke, while the others just jeered and watched. If they were feeling particularly generous that day, they may heal the bone, just so they could break them all over again the next day. Her leg stuck out at a funny angle where Rowl had stomped on it just below the knee, making her scream out as she felt the bone snap under his boot. He'd left her there like that, sobbing in pain and confusion. She hadn't eaten a proper meal in weeks, they fed her only enough to keep her alive through their grueling torture.

Pansy had thought that as time went by she would just become numb to it all, but evidently it hadnt been long enough. It still hurt when they hit her, it still made her shudder when they touched her, it still brought her to tears every time they entered the room. Through it all she never broke, she was raised with proper pure blood dignity, and she would NOT be reduced to a begging, blubbering pile of sod beneath them. They could bring their worst, and Pansy would take her death in hand, but she would not beg.

She heard the door open, and she tried to scoot back to the wall, but her leg was dead weight and wouldn't allow for very much movement. She couldn't even see who it was, the light from the doorway blinding her, and once it closed she was thrown back into pure blackness. Pansy had only a split second to wonder before there was a flash of purple light and she screamed as gashes tore over her torso and arm. It was Carrow then, Sectumsempra was a favorite of his. She writhed on the floor in agony as Alecto wordlessly watched her bleed, and she prayed that maybe this time he would let it end. No such luck, just as she was beginning to become woozy and numb from the blood loss, he made it stop, muttering incantations over her to heal the wounds, just so he could repeat the process.

Pansy felt as if her insides were being ripped from her,repeatedly and endlessly as she could do nothing but lay on the floor screaming in excruciating body was coated in thick, sticky, foul smelling blood, and her vision blurred as the pain became so much worse than anything she had ever expected to experience. Pansy had thought that her days of living in fear had ended when Voldemort died, but this life she had come to know, had her wishing more than anything that she could go back to that moment at Hogwarts, to her friends, to her family, even living in constant fear was better than this.

Carrow stopped after what felt like hours, and chest racking with heavy breaths and sobs, Pansy thought that maybe he had finally gotten whatever sick satisfaction he had come for. "CRUCIO!" He screeched, and she was hit with waves of a whole new kind of pain, her back arching to almost lifting herself off the floor, Pansy screamed as her nerves caught fire. She could taste blood as she bit down on her tongue, probably hard enough to sever it. It felt like thousands of tiny knives were stabbing into her body from every direction at once, it was an unbearable pain, one she would never get used to, though she experienced it daily.

When it was over, she lay there for hours, sobbing into the darkness, no one could hear her. No one was coming to save her. It would all end here, in a dark smelly dungeon, cowering in a pool of her own blood and shit. This was not the life she had ever envisioned for herself. This was not the death she had her envisioned for herself.

Pansy Parkinson had been raised to be a proper aristocratic young pure blood lady, she was supposed to marry a rich, politically favored, pure blood boy, produce an heir to carry on his name, and maybe even fall in love along the way. She had grown up in a world where every wish she'd ever had had been granted, house elves waiting on her hand and foot. She'd spent her formative years with the best of everything, from clothes and jewelry to the boys that followed her around Hogwarts like lost puppies wrapped around her finger. What did the riches and the popularity get her? Where was she now? Cold and wet lying on a dungeon floor with blood matted in her hair, waiting for her next round of punishment, that's what.

Father had never prepared her for this, for the harsh reality of what it really was that the Death Eaters were capable of. Her family had taken a neutral stance during the war. Her father wasn't a pure blood bigot, he had one sole prejudice and it was poverty. Pansy's family existed for money, there were no hidden agendas. Contrary to the Gryffindor opinion back in school, she hadn't been bred racist. She'd been the person she needed to be to fit into Draco's little clique and make connections, like her mother had always taught her to do.

Tears welled in Pansy's eyes at the thought of her parents as she wondered if she would ever see them again, or if they were even still alive. She just wanted to go home, although at this point she had resigned herself to the fact that she would never see daylight again, like it or not, she was going to die in this dungeon at the mercy of a bunch of psychotic followers of a dead half breed.

Sometime later the door opened again, and it started all over again.

She could always identify him by the smell, Greyback always stank of blood and decaying flesh. These were the worst of her days, Greyback tended to forgo the magical punishment for something more…. Primal for lack of better word. Pansy was wordlessly yanked to her feet by her hair with a cry, all her weight going on her broken leg. She was forced back into the wall and let out a bloodcurdling scream when the man who was more wolf than anything else, bit her just above the collarbone, tearing away a chunk of her flesh down to the bone. She could feel hot blood spilling down her chest and tears running down her face as he dropped her to the ground and kicked her a few times for good measure. By no means though, was this the end of it. Pansy felt his booted foot smash down on her bad leg, sending her whole body into an uncontrollable spasm of pain as her fingers scrabbled madly for something to grab onto, those were next. She cried out yet again as her hand was smashed under his massive weight, at least 3 of her finger bones snapping with the impact.

It did her no good to cry or to scream, there was nothing she could do to make it stop, all she could do was take it until he got bored. Greyback was a savage, she had heard the rumors during the war, but experiencing it personally was a whole other story. He lifted her back up, roughly by her good arm, and she felt the tear as he pulled the arm from its socket, there was no piece of her they hadn't broken. No piece of her they hadn't defiled. This was her daily routine, and it had slowly chipped away at her sanity for how long she didn't know. She was as dead inside as she had ever been.

And suddenly he was gone, Pansy was collapsing to the floor, there were muffled sounds outside the door and flashes of light, and suddenly the room was full of light as the door was blasted off of its hinges. As Pansy's eyes adjusted to the light she concluded that she must be dreaming.

Harry Potter stood in the doorway, but it was a Harry Potter that Pansy had never seen before. Gone was the short, scrawny boy she had known at Hogwarts. Here was…. Harry Potter the Auror, the chosen one who had defeated Lord Voldemort, and single handedly brought most of his remaining followers to justice. Pansy shuddered as she looked into his eyes and saw them clouded with a dark fury she had never seen. He radiated anger in a way that made her almost feel sorry for anyone on the receiving end of it. Drawn to his full height and very much intimidating, she could see why the Death Eater's feared him.

Harry strode across the room with a purpose, no longer containing his anger, a burst of magic exploded out of him, throwing Greyback into the wall, Pansy heard a crunch as he made contact, but he didn't stay down for long. A snarl escaping his lips he leapt at Harry,knocking him to the floor, his claws grasping around the Auror's throat.

Harry fumbled at the ground for his fallen wand, his fingers finding a loose brick instead. Choking for air, Harry brought all the force he could muster into swinging the brick at the side of Greyback's head, sending the wolf man reeling sideways in a daze. Harry leapt for his wand just as Greyback leapt for him.

There was a snarl, a flash of green light, and Pansy heard the thump as all Greyback's weight fell to the ground. Harry stood up, brushing the dirt from himself, and surveyed the room for a minute, making absolutely sure it was cleared.

When he turned on her, wand in his hand, she flinched, her eyes wide in fear, and she flattened herself into the wall, wincing as her the sores on her back made contact with the rough brick. Instantly his anger disappated, and before she knew what was happening he was kneeling next to her.

"It's ok" he spoke softly, "they won't hurt you anymore"

He put his arm under her legs and lifted her up, her arm automatically wrapping around his neck and her head flopping over onto his shoulder. She couldn't help but feel a slight bit of hope, as she finally drifted into unconsciousness, that maybe she was safe at last in the arms of the Boy Who Lived.


	3. Chapter 3

Once again, uploaded from my phone at work, formatting will be fixed later when I am home :) apologies once again. Hope you enjoy!

xxx

Harry hadn't been home in three days. Nothing short of his status as the Boy Who Lived could have given him the right to stay, but the fury in Harry's face when he'd brought Pansy to the trauma ward of St. Mungo's had sent a clear message to the healers, he wasn't going anywhere. Harry had watched a silent vigil over Pansy's bed since the moment she'd come out of surgery. She still hadn't woken up, but the Healers had told him that after the amount of trauma she had suffered, it was perfectly normal for patients to sleep for days. They had been able to repair most of the damage, some bones had healed in awkward positions when the Death Eaters had carelessly mended them with no mind to proper care, but she had come through the strenuous 12 hour surgery, better off at least.

Harry watched silently across the room, fixated on the broken witch in front of him as she slept. They had completely destroyed her, Harry had never seen anyone, in all his career, survive the amount of damage that had been inflicted on Pansy. She was strong, he had known that from the offset, she had always been very strong willed back in school.

The healers had said that they couldn't be sure of the extent until she was awake, but there was sure to be an extensive amount of emotional and mental damage after what she had gone through. Harry had never before given a rat's ass about Pansy Parkinson, but seeing her like that in those dungeons, something had snapped. No one deserved that. He'd lost control of his magic in a way that hadn't happened since he was 13, throwing Greyback into that wall had been completely unintentional, something had just… Snapped inside Harry's head. Harry was still torn, blaming himself for what had happened to this girl, who regardless of their enmity at school, he had known since he was 11 years old. Regardless of their feelings about each other, they had grown up together.

Lost in thought, Harry had failed to notice Pansy's eyes flutter open. "Why are you staring at me Potter?" she croaked, shocking Harry's mind from it's wandering state. "Just making sure youre not dead Parkinson" he replied, relieved to see her sitting up on her own. "You could at least make yourself useful and get me some water" she sneered, Harry couldnt tell if she was being playful, or just her normal bitchy self, but he complied, quickly filling her bedside cup with an "Augmenti" charm. Harry watched as she gulped down the water, and he refilled the cup for her, watching the second go down just as fast.

"Pansy…." Harry started. "Food, Potter, i havent eaten a real meal in a month. I'm sure you have questions, but you could be a gentleman and let me eat first" She cut him off. The comeback on Harry's lips died before it had even formed, as he realized this was Pansy being civil. He could see through the snooty banter, it was in her eyes, the crashing realization of what she had been through over the last month. She would mask her pain behind her signature Pansy Parkinson attitude, but Harry could see it ingrained in her features. "Are you done staring yet Potter? I believe I said I was hungry!" She said, snapping the fingers on her good hand to get Harry's attention. Shaking his head Harry left the room to go find some food.

Back a few minutes later with the best selection from the bakery across the street, Harry carefully unwrapped everything and placed it on a tray for her. "I wasn't sure what you liked so I just got a bit of everything" He said sheepishly. Pansy's usually hardened expression seemed to soften a bit as he carefully placed the tray in her lap and filled her bedside cup with pumpkin juice. "Thank you Harry…." She said, her lips bearing the ghost of what Harry could honestly say was the first smile he had ever seen her wear. Her use of his first name for the first time in memory wasn't exactly lost on him either. Their eyes met briefly before each of them nervously averted their gaze. "Eat up" he said, pointing at the tray, "you've got a lot of strength to regain." Harry hadn't been around Pansy enough to know anything about her eating habits, but her month in captivity seemed to have abolished any pickiness she'd once had. He watched silently as she devoured everything he'd brought her, gulping the pumpkin juice down, and once again he felt a pang of guilt for the entire situation the witch in front of him had been placed in.

Around lunch time the healers came in to do some checkups, Harry bowed out of the room, promising he would be back to check on her later. Once outside he apparated to his apartment to get cleaned up, he had a very special date planned and it wouldn't do for him to show up covered in blood and smelling of Death Eater filth.

An hour later there was the tiniest knock at his door and Harry was beaming as he swung it open to greet his godson. "Uncle Harry!" Teddy screamed as Harry was assaulted in the tightest hug the four year old child could muster. "Hey buddy! I missed you!" Harry said, picking Teddy up and ruffling his shaggy brown hair. "Hello Harry" Andromeda said smiling warmly. Harry nodded, "Come in Andromeda would you like something to drink?" Harry said, setting Teddy down so the boy could proceed to systematically find the best and quickest ways to completely destroy his apartment. Harry and Andromeda made small talk for a while, catching each other up and the comings and goings of their lives since they had last seen each other, and soon enough it was with a gracious goodbye that Harry was seeing her out.

"Now!" Harry said with an evil grin "I have you all to myself! Come here you little monster!" Teddy shrieked with laughter as Harry proceeded to chase him in circles around the couch. Finally catching him Harry spun his godson into the air and began tickling his ribs mercilessly. He smiled as Teddy giggled uncontrollably. Harry lived for these moments, the short reprieves in the chaos his life had been over the last four years. Teddy was the light in Harry's darkness, his proof that there was still some goodness and innocence in an otherwise dark and twisted world. "Uncle Harry lets go get some ice cream!" Teddy yelled, giggling profusely as Harry sat him down. Harry grinned and put his hands on his hips pretending to be lost in thought. "Now Teddy…." He said, "you know full well that your grandma Andromeda doesn't want you eating too many sweets." "Nuh uh Uncle Harry!" Teddy said adamantly, putting on his best puppy dog eyes. "Gramma Dromeda said I can eat all the ice cream I want!" He pouted. While Harry very much doubted that that was the case, he had infact already planned to take Teddy to Diagon Alley for some ice cream, where they were going to meet up with Ron and then there was a whole evening planned out.

The trip to florean fortescue's ice cream shop was, eventful to say the least, leaving Teddy, Ron, and Harry all three covered in sticky chocolate ice cream. The trio troped back through the Leaky Cauldron, greeting Tom the barkeep with a wave as Harry took Teddy into the restroom to clean him up, doing the same for himself with a quick charm.

"Teddy who's the best quidditch team in the world?" Harry asked nonchalantly, a grin beginning to form on his lips. "Puddlemere! Puddlemere! Puddlemere!" Teddy yelled enthusiastically pumping his tiny fist in the air. "That's right buddy! Now what would you say if I told you that your Uncle Ron and I, MIGHT have scored some top box tickets to their game tonight?" Harry said. Teddys fist froze in mid air, and he looked at Harry, the excitement growing wild in his eyes. "REALLY?!" He yelled. "Really really" Harry said, seeing Teddy's excitement beginning to steam roll. Teddy yelled and ran out of the bathroom screaming "Puddlemere! Puddlemere! Puddlemere!" Harry chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm as he followed him out to watch him run all around the pub screaming about Puddlemere, the other customers smiling at the pure joy on his face.

Several excitement filled hours later, Harry carried a sleeping Teddy through the door of his apartment, still wearing the smile that had graced his face for the last few hours. He was Happy he'd been able to get the tickets, he'd known Teddy would love them. Harry had had enough happen over the last month, the break from it all had been nice. He and Ron had laughed the night away watching Teddy's excitement over his first real Quidditch game. The little guy had worn himself out apparently. He'd fallen asleep in Harry's arms within minutes of the game being over.

Harry strode back to the bedroom he had reserved for Teddy, one that Hermione had decorated mind you, and laid the boy down, pulling the giant red and gold Gryffindor comforter over him. As he turned to leave, Harry's eyes swept over the picture of Remus and Tonks that Teddy kept on his bedside table, and his heart sank again. "You'd be proud of him old friend" Harry whispered, "he's growing up to be quite a wonderful kid". Harry ruffled Teddy's sandy brown hair lovingly and strode back out of the bedroom.

The paperwork from Pansy Parkinson's rescue stared up at him from the island in his kitchen, and with a sigh, Harry picked it up and began to flip through it, not really in the mood for it tonight. Unfortunately it needed to get done, so Harry flopped over on the couch and poured himself three fingers of an expensive Scotch from the crystal bottle on his coffee table. Harry swished the deep Amber liquid around in his glass a few times before taking a drink. It burned his throat on the way down and made his entire body feel warm. The scotch had been a gift from Kingsley after a particularly brutal raid that had kept Harry awake for many a night. Maybe out of habit by now, but it seemed to be Harry's go to bottle after every battle, so he could sleep without fear of the nightmares catching up to him.

Harry worked long into the night reading through every detail of The raid on Dolohov's estate, memorizing crime scene photos, pouring over the evidence. Looking for some clue the Death Eaters might have left about where they would go next, the ones who hadn't been captured or killed anyway. He filled out the places that needed his input, and assimilated all of the data from the other officers who had handled the report.

As the night wore on Harry's eyelids grew heavier and the bottle of scotch seemed to empty itself as Harry consumed glass after glass as he worked. Sometime just before sunrise he stumbled off to bed, far more drunk than he should have been.

 _All Hell had broken loose in Diagon Alley, and it was all hands on deck. Harry and Ron were fresh out of the Auror Academy and it was the height of the post-war conflict. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement had sent everything it had, and then some, many witches and wizards of consenting age had shown up to try and bring a halt to this concentrated show of Death Eater strength. They had come in full force, wearing the ceremonial robes._

 _The Dark Mark hung over the Alley washed in smoke and fog and the acrid smell of something burning._

 _It was Harry's first battle as a full fledged Auror, and the concentration and organization of it all terrified him. Every battle he had ever partaken in throughout his years, was a random event, never something he had known was coming, never something he'd planned for. His stomach clenched tightly as he flooed into the rendezvous point designated by the ministry, Harry had no idea what was about to happen. It was utter chaos, there was no better word to describe it. Harry's senses were assaulted as the customary bangs and blasts of magical warfare met his ears, accompanied by the jets of light rocketing through the smoke clouded air. Shops were ablaze, and Harry was hit with the thick smell of burning wood and plaster._

 _Jumping into the fray, time seemed to slow as Harry shot a wordless curse at the first masked figure he happened across, and didn't even stop to identify the incapacitated Death Eater. Glimpsing down an alleyway Harry did a double take as he saw Fred Weasley going at it with another of Voldemort's masked thugs. His stomach dropped as it dawned on him, of course the Weasleys were here, why wouldn't they be? "Ginny…." Harry whispered, terrified for his on again, off again girlfriend. "GINNY?" Harry yelled as he began sprinting down the alleyway, frantically searching for the fiery redhead._

 _Harry eventually found her, and his eyes widened in horror as he processed what he was seeing. Ginny was exchanging curses with Yaxley, the two circled each other, with all the suspense of a coiled snake. Harry watched, transfixed and rooted to the spot as Ginny struck first, like a cobra in fear for its life. Yaxley deflected her spell, with a quick flick of his wrist and before Harry could move, countered with a jet of pure white magic that… Simply punched a hole clean through Ginny's chest. Her mouth formed a tiny "oh" and she crumpled to the ground. Harry's first thought was that someone had turned off the sound, the color, all of it, as he watched Ginny fall in slow motion, blood beginning to leak from her pale lips. Yaxley seemed to have just noticed Harry, he grinned, "Sorry 'bout your blood traitor bitch Potter" he spat. Harry snapped out of his daze, and suddenly all he could feel was pure, unadulterated, white hot rage. He let out a roar that he swore should have torn his throat, and charged down the alley at Yaxley, all magic forgotten he leapt, reaching for his throat. Yaxley flicked his wrist again and there was a sonic boom that sent Harry flying backthrough a nearby shop window. Sputtering and shaking off the glass, Harry didn't even feel it as he shot back up, the adrenaline pounding venom through his veins. "CRUCIO!" Harry bellowed sending the curse flying straight for Yaxley, who simpler apparated around it, laughing, mocking, taunting Harry. Harry growled, and flung curse after curse towards the blonde Death Eater. None of them made contact._

 _"Tut tut Potter" Yaxley taunted "you would think that the Auror academy would have helped with your aim…. How did you ever pass? Seems the standards have been lowered since I was there" Harry lunged again but with a wave of Yaxley's hand Harry found himself on the ground again. All sense of humor fled the Death Eater's face "How did A measly BOY like you defeat the Dark Lord Potter? You can't even hit me" He whirled his wand and Harry barely dodged the white beam of light that surely would have killed him as fast as it had Ginny. The rage clouding his mind Harry didn't realize until it was too late what he had done, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" he roared, the jet of green light blasting Yaxley's already lifeless body into the air._

 _Harry's eyes widened as he realized the implications of his actions. It wasn't the last time he would use he killing curse, but it was the first time. He watched the light fade from Yaxley's eyes, as an irrational wave of remorse hit him for what he had done._

 _Harry stifled the urge to lose his lunch._

 _Ginny's body was laying in a heap of robes in the middle of the street, Harry didn't know how, but he could tell she was still breathing as he knelt next to her. Her eyes fluttered open and her blood soaked hand instantly came up to caress his cheek. She was quivering, barely holding on._

 _"Ginny please don't die, I've been stupid, I love you…. Please don't die" Harry sobbed, the tears falling freely. She smiled weakly, tears unavoidably forming in her eyes as well. "You're here now Harry, that's all that matters, stay with me, please stay with me…." She muttered, her eyes beginning to close. Harry shook her gently, "Ginny, Ginny I'm right here, stay with me. Ginny please!" Harry shouted through his tears. Ginny's hand fell limply away from Harry's jawline and he grabbed onto it like it was the only connection he had to reality._

 _"I love you Harry, I always will"_

 _She heaved one last terrible death rattle, and then Ginny's breathing stopped. She was gone like dust in the wind, and there was nothing Harry could do. He sat there, sobbing, screaming for her to come back, covered in her blood, and utterly helpless._

Harry shot up in bed in a cold sweat, with a gripping tightness in his chest. His mind was still partially clouded in an alcoholic fog, and looking at his clock he realized he'd only gotten 3 hours of sleep. The memory he continued to see in his dreams, was one Harry was convinced he would never forget. Ginny had died too young, in a way far more brutally than she had deserved. It still stung Harry to this day, to realize that she would never brighten his doorstep again.

Knowing he wasn't going to get any more sleep after his nightmare, Harry decided he had better take Teddy home, and then stop by the office. Although he wasn't scheduled to work today, his nightmare had done more to convince him that he needed to bring Pansy's captors to justice. No one else was dying on his watch

xxx

Thank you everyone so much for following the story! The hansy element of this story is going to be slow in development, I already have the entire plot planned out and it shouldn't be too much longer but it will be slow burning. There is an underlying mystery and darkness to this plot that Harry will discover along the way, so I don't want to just focus on the relationship aspects of it. There will be plenty of steamy hansy scenes don't get me wrong but they aren't the core element of the story! I hope you're enjoying so far. The next chapter is an interesting one. I have it fleshed out but it won't be posted until my beta can go over it.

Thanks for following! Please review if you enjoyed it! I need some feedback to keep this going!


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, i am so sorry it's taken me this long to update the story. I'm switching shifts at work right now and trying to adjust to the new hours. Updates may be a little slow while i adjust, but with that being said, im trying to make the chapters a bit longer so you have more to hold you over. Thank you for your patience! Feedback is king, we're all writers here and we know how it works... if you like the story please drop a review!

xxx

Harry hadn't been in his office 5 minutes when he'd gotten an owl directing him to Kingsley's office.

Hermione sat at her desk in the giant foyer leading to The Minister's office. "Come on Hermione you're the Senior Undersecretary to The Minister! You have to know what this is about!" Harry whined, but she just gave him her know it all smirk and responded that he would have to wait and see. Shaking his head and letting out a growl of playful frustration he walked into Kingsley's office as she held the door open for him. "Mr. Potter here to see you Minister" she said, showing Harry into the room.

"Thank you Hermione" Kingsley said, as she closed the door on her way out. Kingsley raised an eyebrow as Harry helped himself to the Minister's superb collection of vintage whiskey, as he always did. "What's this about Kingsley?" Harry said, maybe a small bit more disrespectfully than he meant to, "I do have quite a bit of work to get done today" The minister steepled his fingers atop his large oak desk, and nodded for Harry to have a seat in one of the great plush armchairs in front of him. "This concerns your work Potter" he said. "As you know, for the four years since we… Since YOU won the Battle of Hogwarts, the ministry has been in a constant state of chaos, the constant war effort has left us with some undesirable negligence of structure at home".

Harry took a swig of his whiskey and nodded for Kingsley to continue, curious as to where he was going with this.

"Potter, I'll cut the bullshit and get right to the point. I'm running myself ragged trying to wear all these different hats. I'm acting in the role of minister, head of Magical Law Enforcement, Head Auror, and head of Ministry Publicity. I can't manage all of it anymore." Was he saying he wanted to step down? Why was this any of Harry's concern? "Potter I want you to completely take over the Parkinson case, take whatever liberties you want, do what you want, direct man power however you see fit, I'm granting you Head Auror" Harry nearly spit his whiskey down his robes. "You want ME as head Auror on this case? Kingsley I've barely got 4 years of experience, and that's including academy time!"

Kingsley smiled, shaking his head. "Harry you misunderstand, I don't want you as head Auror on the case. I'm granting you rank as Head Auror over the entire division" This time Harry really did spit his whiskey everywhere. Blushing sheepishly he cleaned the mess with a wave of his wand as Kingsley continued. "As I said Harry I can't play all the instruments in the band anymore. I'm appointing a new head of department as well, I need to focus on my job as minister. You will still report directly to me as Head Auror, the new department head will sit in on all decisions to be made, but during war times I will still call the final shots on our war effort. There is a bigger office, and a pay raise included of course, should you accept the job, but we can discuss all that later. The most important thing, because I feel like this must be said due to the nature of both my predecessors. Harry I do not want you to think that this appointment has anything to do with your face or your name. I am not trying to paint the ministry in a gilded light by using you as a motivational poster boy. You have shown time and time again that you have earned this position, and not just by defeating the Dark Lord. In the past four years I have watched you grow into one of the most capable wizards I have ever met. Your parents? Sirius and Remus? Albus…. Harry they would all be so proud of the man you've become. It was with a great sense of conviction and honor that I gave my full support to you on the board's decision on who would be chosen for this job"

Harry was completely dumbfounded. He was touched to know that Kingsley thought so highly of him. "Of course I'll take it sir" he said humbly. "I want to do everything I can, to help everyone I can, that's why I became an Auror. This puts me in a better position to do that. I don't want anymore bodies"

Kingsley nodded, "Potter you're a damn good Auror, I'm glad to have served with you in this war, I have every confidence that you will do right by the people we serve in your new position." He said, "Hermione is going to organize a press conference to announce your new appointment, as well as the new Department Head, and then the both of you will need to report to the Department of Mysteries bright and early for training for your new security clearance. Your new position gives you access to a lot of classified information Potter, and there's a whole new training regimine dedicated to how you are to handle that delicate information"

Harry nodded, standing to shake Kingsley's hand, his mind still racing…. Head Auror. It was surreal. He was still a rookie compared to so many, still had so much to learn. He was the boss now, director of the entire Auror department. Holy Merlin.

Hermione rushed Harry as soon as the door to Kingsley's office clicked closed, throwing her arms around him in an all engulfing hug, "Oh Harry! Congratulations! You'll do so well!" She squealed, her excitement for Harry gleaming in her eyes. She handed him a thick packet of sealed files stamped "CLASSIFIED". "Now, you are legally not allowed to open these until after you've had your training tomorrow morning, but Kingsley trusts you so he wanted me to go ahead and hand them over. This is everything they know on the Parkinson case, which is your biggest priority right now. Your new office is the one right across from the MLE Department Head's office, obviously you know where that is. Here are your keys! I think that's all…." She said handing him a set of keys and losing herself in thought making sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

A few minutes later Harry stepped into his new office, and looked around in awe. His things had already been moved, of course they had, that was the charm of magic. The room was easily twice the size of his cramped corner office on the other side of the floor. This reminded Harry of an executive office like you would see in the muggle movies. It was a smaller version of Kingsley's own office, very similar to the department head's office. There was a large oak desk in the middle of the room with a high backed leather chair sitting behind it, and two very comfortable looking armchairs in front of it. Behind the desk was a large window covering that entire wall, looking out over wizarding London. Bookshelves lined the walls, and as Harry's eyes swept across the tomes filling them he was impressed. There were so many books on combatting dark magic, so much research, he could get lost in the materials for days.

On the opposite wall between several large filing cabinets sat a solid wood bar. A silver tray sat perched atop it with several crystal glasses, and bottles of all of Harry's favorite drinks. Kingsley knew him well. There was a grand fireplace on the front wall of the room, with a jar of floo powder sitting on the mantle and as Harry's eyes wandered up to the giant portrait above it, he was almost brought to tears. Kingsley had to have had it made for him, there was no other explanation. His mother, his father, Sirius, and Remus all waved at him from in front of the Potter's house in Godric Hollow, bouncing baby Harry on his mother's hip.

They all looked so happy, immortalized in time, a bright moment in a time that was just as dark for them as the one Harry found himself in now. Harry gave the portrait a watery smile and a wave back, remembering to thank Kingsley later for his thoughtfulness. He tried each of the keys on his desk before finally finding the correct one to open the drawer. He carefully placed the classified file in the drawer and locked it back up. His curiosity was eating him alive but he had Kingsley's trust that he wouldn't open it until he'd had his security training. He didn't want to botch the new job 10 minutes in.

Harry sat in his comfortable new chair, with his feet up on his desk, sipping on a glass of high end bourbon, taking it all in, watching the portrait of his family. He was on top of the world and no one and nothing could bring him down. Looking at the clock Harry realized it was already 2:30, and cursed under his breath, he'd meant to make it to St. Mungo's earlier than this, he didn't want Parkinson to think he had abandoned her. He felt some attachment to the girl after rescuing her, he just couldn't put his finger on why.

A few minutes later Harry walked into Pansy's hospital room, to see her sitting propped up on a ridiculous amount of pillows. "Potter…." She sneered, "you stood me up! Did no one ever teach you how to treat a pure blood lady?" Harry smirked, at least her attitude hadn't been damaged in her ordeal. "Of course not Parkinson, I'm just a half blood oaf remember?" He said snarkily. Her face fell somewhat and Harry could tell he had unintentionally struck a nerve.

"Pansy I didn't mean…." He began but she cut him off.

"Potter…. _Harry,_ I went through a lot at the hands of those… _perfect purebloods._ I won't forget that it was the Half Blood oaf that rescued me." Her eyes were full of gratitude and it took Harry aback, he had never seen this side of her before, she was almost…. Pleasant. "I er… I brought you some food" Harry said, holding up the brown paper bag. "I can't really make up for standing you up, but I can try right?" He said, giving her his best half cocked smile. She pretended to think about it for a second, and then reached for the bag. "You're taking steps Potter, you're taking steps"

Just like that, the enmity of their childhood was behind them. Wounds wouldn't heal overnight, but Harry thought that maybe Pansy Parkinson wasn't the total bitch he'd always made her out to be, not anymore anyway. He sat with her for most of the day, not wanting her to feel alone.

They ate the pasta Harry had brought, they played a few games of exploding snap, until the nurses came in waving their arms and yelling like banshees, which made Pansy giggle. Harry couldn't help thinking that her laugh wasn't the most unpleasant thing he had ever heard, and he found himself actually enjoying spending time with the girl that had made his childhood a living hell.

Sometime after dark, the healers came and gave Pansy a sedative. It hit Harry with a pang of sympathy when a nurse pulled him aside and told him that she had had violent nightmares the night before, and that she needed her sleep.

After a few minutes of bickering with the nurse, Harry convinced her to let him spend the night, stating concern about Mrs. Parkinson's security, and flat out saying that it was an ultimatum between him staying, or several Aurors keeping watch outside her door. She finally relented.

In all honsty Harry wasn't concerned about her security, St. Mungo's was probably one of the safest places she could be right now. It was just that he knew all too well how it felt to be constantly terrorized at night by the ghosts of ones past.

Harry found a blanket from one of the supply closets, and Pansy gave him a quizzical look as he plopped down on the plush couch in her room and began to spread it over himself.

"Harry" she said dreamily, the sedatives beginning to take effect. "You don't have to stay"

Harry shook his head. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere, you're safe Pansy. I'm not letting anyone hurt you again"

She nodded and rolled onto her side, watching him as he pulled a book from his bag.

Harry opened up "An offensive defense, a theory study on magical law enforcement" it was one of the books that had been on the shelves in his office.

The time passed in silence as Pansy just watched him read, he could feel her tension dissipating. No matter what she said, she obviously felt safer when he was around.

Harry read until well after Pansy's breathing had evened out and she was sleeping deeply.

Tired himself from his work day, it wasn't long before Harry himself had dozed into, for once, a dreamless sleep.

What felt like minutes later Harry was woken up by a loud scram. He bolted upright, his wand in his hand and at the ready. As the haze of sleep cleared, he realized Pansy was screaming and thrashing around in her sleep. Harry rushed to her side, to keep her from hurting herself. "Pansy!" He yelled, grabbing her wrist gently to keep from getting punched in the mouth. "Pansy wake up! It's just a bad dream!" Harry called again, and her eyes shot open. "Are you ok?" Harry said, winded. "You were having a nightmare again, you're safe, it's ok!" She finally began to calm down as her mind registered that she was in fact, not in a dark decrepid Death Eater dungeon miles away, but safe in her hospital bed. Harry could see the tears threatening to pour down her face, but her pride kept those floodgates shut.

Harry threw caution to the wind and motioned for her to scoot over. She looked at him like she was seeing him for the first time, Harry couldn't tell if she thought he was her knight in shining armor, or that he was cracked in the head. After a moment of deliberation, the blanket still wrapped around her carefully, she made room for him on the small bed. Harry laid down next to her, motioning for her to scoot in to him, and she hesitated, this was strange new territory for the pair. "I'm right here Pansy, I'm not going anywhere till you want me to. No one is going to hurt you again, you're safe." A few unbidden tears leaked from her eyes.

She nodded and scooted closer, her head coming to rest on his chest, her arm carelessly thrown across him. They lay there in peaceful silence, Harry's steady breathing under her head lulling her off to a sound sleep. He couldn't help but laugh at the thought of his current position. If you'd told him four years ago, as Pansy was trying to sell him out to Voldemort, that he would be laying in bed with her comforting her, he would have laughed in your face.

Harry woke the next morning, to thick black hair fanned across his face, and a warm weight on his chest, he smiled, it was the first time in a long time he'd slept through the night without a nightmare jolting him awake in the early hours of the morning. Carefully, as so not to wake Pansy, Harry disentangled himself from her and stood slowly from the bed. She was so peaceful as she slept, Harry really just wished he could take it all away, wished he could have prevented what had happened to her.

After apparating home for a quick shower, Harry headed straight back to the ministry building, full of excitement to start his first day at the new job. It didn't start slow. The department secretary met him at the entrance to his floor with a stack of paperwork, and an itinerary for his day, babbling instructions in his ear, and rattling off a list of things Harry needed to see to. Harry had a hard time keeping up with the fast paced, one sided conversation, he hoped this was all in the paperwork she had handed him. He was bombarded by four other people on the way to his office, needing signatures for paperwork, stamps of approval for warrants, and requests for meetings. Harry graciously gave the best answers he could, but couldn't help feeling overwhelmed, and he hadn't been at work ten minutes yet.

His office door shut behind him, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Making his way to the desk he began to look over the itinerary for his day, and it looked like it would be a busy one. Reading over the first item on his list, Harry sighed and turned right back around to his fireplace. He scooped some floo powder from the jar on the mantle, and threw it in the fire "The Leaky Cauldron!"

As he stepped out of the fireplace, Harry brushed the soot from his shirt and straightened his tie, waving to Tom on his way through. It had been a while since he'd been in Diagon proper. The closest he'd been recently was with Teddy for Ice cream, and that had been entered from the side that opened into muggle London. As always, Harry had to stop and take a deep breath. It was hard to see this place full of life and laughter, when just four years ago, down this very street, Harry had held Ginny in his arms as the life had seeped out of a gaping hole in her chest.

He made his way past the colorful displays at Flourish and Blott's, Quality Quidditch Supplies, and Olivander's, stopping in front of a dingy office building.

Steeling himeself, Harry gripped the handle and walked in.

The first sight Harry was met with, was an attractive young blonde, standing a little too close to Draco Malfoy, they seemed to be in heated conversation, so Harry waited patiently. He couldn't help but notice how the muggle jeans she wore hugged the curves of her hips and rear end completely perfectly. Looking over her shoulder, the girl gave Harry a once over, with hooded electric blue eyes, and she smiled, maybe a little bit too seductively, chewing on her bottom lip. Harry couldn't help but watch as she walked by, her eyes never leaving his, and her hips swaying ever so gently, long blonde hair swishing behind her as she left the office.

"Who…." Harry began, eyes still on the door, but Malfoy cut him off. "What do you need Potter?" he drawled, in the same annoying voice that made Harry want to punch him in the face when they were in school. Harry held out the packet his secretary had given him, "Give this to your father" he said coldly. Draco took the package from Harry with a quizzical expression on his face. "No one in my office can seem to find him, and this is his next assignment, information we need him to find on several high profile targets". Malfoy nodded, striding back to a safe on the wall. He made a complex series of gestures with his wand, and the door opened, he deposited the file, among stacks of other paperwork and closed the door.

"Would you like a drink?" he asked, catching Harry off guard. Harry nodded, accepting the glass of some deep brown liquid from him, half tempted to check it for poisons before taking a drink. Some enmity never dies. "I received word down the grapevine Potter, that you got Pansy out of that hellhole dungeon of Dolohov's" he said. "She is my oldest and dearest of friends, and i would really love to know how she is doing. St. Mungo's is denying that she's even a patient there". Harry shook his head. "Sorry Draco, I'm really not at liberty to discuss an ongoing case with anyone outside the investigation"

Malfoy gave him a cold stare, his steely grey eyes boring into Harry's emerald green ones. "Potter I swear to God if anything happens to her on your watch, you'll have me to answer to" he said, and Harry could see his fingers opening and closing over his robe pocket, as if he wanted to reach for his wand and hex Harry where he stood.

Harry pointed at Draco's hand, with a glare. "First of all, you don't want to do that, I fought hard to keep you out of Azkaban, for your mother's sake, but don't think for a second I wouldn't love to throw you back to the wolves in a heartbeat. Second of all, I don't take well to threats from ferrets like you Malfoy, I'm in over my head enough with this damned investigation to try to save YOUR fucking friend from this shitstorm she's in. Thirdly, I can be compassionate enough when the situation arises, I know you care about her Draco, as much as you can care about anything anyway. I will let you know as soon as we have some information that can go public."

Malfoy clenched his hand into a fist, the scowl never leaving his face. His eyes narrowed "If anything happens Potter, her blood will be on your hands, and it will be your blood on my hands" Harry took a step forward squaring himself up with Malfoy, inches from his face. "Don't make threats you can't back up Draco" he spat.

It seemed like their childhood feud would never die.

Without another word Harry swept from the office, his morning already off to a fantastic start. On his return to work Harry found Hermione waiting in his office, helping herself to one of his books as usual. He cleared his throat and she snapped to attention

"Oh! Harry! Sorry I was told to wait here for you" she said, "it's time for the press conference!" Harry almost groaned out loud. He hated press conferences.

Hermione led Harry to the atrium of the ministry where a stage had been set up in front of the restored statue of magical breatheren. Kingsley was already there, with several of his aides bombarding him. Harry felt a slight twinge of sympathy having tasted only a fraction of what Kingsley must have gone through over the last four years in spearheading three major offices in the war effort. Kingsley spotted Harry, and used him as an excuse to escape the crowd surrounding him.

"Harry!" He said, "enjoying your first day so far?" Harry snorted "Kingsley I've been here less than two hours and already I don't know weather to thank you for this job or curse you for it." The minister let out a roar of laughter and clapped Harry on the back. "We're just waiting on our department head and then we'll…. Ah! Arthur amicable timing!" Kingsley said looking over Harry's shoulder. Harry turned to see Arthur Weasley striding towards him. He couldn't help but notice how the loss of so much of his family had begun to affect the elder Weasley. Arthur was thinner than Harry could ever remember him being, and he had a gaunt, haunted look in his eyes that Harry knew all too well, as he saw it every time he looked in the mirror.

Arthur shook Kingsley's hand and pulled Harry in for a hug. "How are you son? Congratulations on the new job!" He said enthusiastically as he broke the embrace. Before Harry could answer Kingsley spoke up "Harry, Arthur is our new head of Magical Law Enforcement! I think he's spent far too much time in a bogged down backwater division of the MLE, he's paid his dues and it's time to move up!" Harry shook his head in disbelief, giving Mr. Weasley a huge grin, "Well I'll be damned, I thought you were happy where you were Mr. Weasley?" He asked. Arthur's face fell slightly and his featured hardened. "Harry I'll be damned if I let another one of my family members die to this war. First Fred, and then Molly, and Ginny…. Anything I can do to put a stop to this madness I will do" he said, tears threatening to well up in his eyes.

Harry hugged Arthur again, congratulating him. He was estatic, he couldn't think of anyone who deserved the job more. "Well now that all parties are here, let's get this thing started shall we?" Kingsley said, motioning for the two men to follow him up onto the platform.

Kingsley made a grand speech about how trying times produced the best of leaders. About how he was proud that the wizarding community had come together during this prolonged period of chaos, and how he was happy to have served next to some of the finest witches and wizards he had ever known. He lamented the casualties of the war, and he exclaimed his hope that with the Death Eaters becoming more savage and brutal every day, it meant that they felt the ministry had them backed into a corner and that the war was nearing it's end.

He spoke of the bravery of every witch and wizard in the community as they fought through these troubled times and how he knew that the light would prevail. It was very moving actually.

He spoke of reform in the ministry, changes that would be made to avoid future corruption, and the future democracy of the Ministry of Magic. Above all he spoke of hope. Telling everyone that there was a light at the end of the dark tunnel they'd wandered down for so many years. Promising that all the deaths, the lost loved ones, family, and friends, would not be in vain.

He introduced Arthur and Harry into their new positions amongst a thunderous applause, stating that under new leadership the Ministry would be pushing their war effort harder than ever, and that they would never back down to these masked savages who worshipped and enshrined a dead master. That the cowards would be unmasked, be brought to justice, and that peace was within their grasp.

Harry and Arthur smiled for the cameras, waving to the crowds, and for just one moment, standing in the light listening to the applause, Harry couldn't help but believe Kingsley. Maybe this would actually all turn out ok.

Once the crowd had disappated, Kingsley reminded Harry and Arthur that after their lunch, they were to report to the Department of Mysteries for their security training.

"I need the both of you to get done as soon as you can. You were both handed a classified dossier of files, and the contents are urgent. You will both go to your offices individually straight from your training, lock your doors, and review the files. After that I need the both of you to report directly to me"

Harry and Arthur both nodded their acknowledgement. Hands were shaken all around, and the three men seperated for lunch. Harry decided to forego his traditional lunch of sitting in the cafeteria shooting the shit with his co-workers. He had a far more important place to be. "St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries!" Harry yelled into his fire, and disappeared in a roar of emerald flame. Harry picked up some lunch at the food court and made his way to Pansy's room, actually looking forward to spending some time with the girl. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt a connection to her somehow, one he'd never felt before. Maybe she had changed in her time as a captive, or maybe she had just let her walls come down and trusted Harry to see her for who she really was.

She smiled when he entered the room, but Harry thought it had more to do with the food than his company. "I must be so high profile if the savior of the wizarding world is even reduced to being my servant. You bring me more food than my house elf Potter!" She said jokingly, taking the tray from him and eagerly digging into the pastries. He sat with her and they chatted about the goings and comings of the world, she had been so out of current event events that she was hungry for some gossip. "Here" Harry said, pulling a copy of the Daily Prophet out of his bag, as well as a copy of Witch Weekly he'd picked up for her while he was in Diagon Alley. "Conceited much Potter?" She said with a hint of laughter in her voice, pointing to the cover of the Prophet. "The first thing you give me is a newspaper with your mug pasted all over the front page! Then again, when is Harry Potter not plastered all over the front page of the Prophet?" Harry looked and sure enough, it never ceased to amaze him how fast the Prophet could run a story. His press conference that had happened barely a half hour ago, was already today's headline. He hadn't even noticed. "Hey Parkinson I just picked it up in the cafeteria, figured you'd like something to read when I'm not here." He said. She smiled up at him, laughter in her eyes. "Oh so you're also a considerate hero?" She jived. Harry shrugged his shoulders as she unfolded the paper and began to read.

"Draco asked about you today" Harry said absently, "more like threatened me for information" Pansy looked up from the paper, "What did you tell him?" She asked flatly.

Harry shook his head. "Nothing, I'm legally not allowed to tell him anything as long as this investigation is going on. St. Mungo's is under strict orders to keep your presence here a secret, no one even knows you're alive. Once this is all cleared up you'll be fine, but there will be a lot of steps to take before that. I'll be frank with you, the moment you are discharged from this hospital, you're going to enter ministry custody and be taken to a secure location so they can question you. I know you don't like to talk about what happened, but you need to be prepared because that is what's going to happen Pansy. It's out of my hands. I'm just the muscle, I don't get a say in the politics."

Pansy just looked at him in silence as she pondered his words. She slowy nodded, acknowledging that she understood, but Harry could see the rage building behind her eyes.

"Look, Pansy. I know you don't want to discuss this. I know that you want to go back to how things were before, you want to live your life without anyone controlling your actions or telling you what to do, trust me I get that. No one wants to make you uncomfortable, but this is how we do what we do. This is how we find the bad guys, and this is how we make sure that what happened to you never happens to anyone again. I will be right there with you if that makes you feel any better about the situation".

She stared up at him defiantly, and Harry could see the tears welling in her eyes again, she dropped her head so he couldn't see, and meekly nodded, grabbing for his hand in a surprising move of vulnerability.

Harry took her small, warm hand in his and gave it a light squeeze.

"It's all going to be ok, I promise"

xxx

Harry rushed to catch the elevator door, not wanting to make a bad impression on anyone by being late to anything on his first day as head Auror. Arthur was the only one in the elevator, and Harry greeted him with a smile. At least if they showed up together Harry could feel confident that he wasn't late. The two men made small talk on the way down the elevator shaft, discussing the political points and duties of their new jobs, pleased that they would be working in such close tandem to one another. As the elevator came to a shuddery stop the men stepped off on the ninth level. An elderly wizard met them midway down the hallway and they were directed to follow him to a room just off the main entrance to the department.

Staring at the plain black door at the end of the hallway, Harry shuddered as he was forced to remember all the strange and terrifying things he had experienced the last time he had been through that door.

"Your instructor will be with you shortly" the gentleman said curtly, in his wheezy voice.

The room was dimly lit, and windowless. The stone walls were bare, and there was a single rickety table staged in the middle of the room. It struck Harry that it looked like an interrogation room from an old muggle film.

Harry and Arthur sat tentatively in the wooden chairs at the table, as if fearing they may collapse under the weight. They sat in amicable silence, listening to the constant ticking of Harry's watch, which was the only way by which to mark the time.

Finally after ten minutes, the door opened and Harry's jaw dropped.

Through the door walked the witch that Harry had seen with Draco Malfoy just that very morning. She looked stunning with her long blonde hair in a fancy updo, and Harry once again couldn't help but notice how her slimming skirt showed off her finely toned legs all the way down to her feet which were encased in what looked to be extremely expensive dragonskin heels. She wore a stark white linen blouse, which Harry noticed with a gulp had maybe just one too many buttons undone, as he could see just the swelling tops of her….. Erm…. Assets.

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat as she strode across the room with an aura of authority and power. This would be an interesting morning.

When she spoke it was with the slight hint of an accent that Harry couldn't place, just enough to make her voice sound like a smooth silk on Harry's ears. He shook his head, trying to keep his thoughts from wandering too unprofessionally.

"My name is Alexandra Matryoshka" she said, " I am a defense and security specialist for the Department of Mysteries, recently transferred from the Russian Ministry of Magic where I worked for six years in the same capacity. I graduated with honors from The Durmstrang Institute, and as you may guess that gave me a certain…. Familiarity with the Dark Arts. Growing up with the stigma of Grindewald upon my country, I strove to show that not all from Durmstrang were of like mind of the Dark Lord that made our land his home. I focused my studies solely on a defensive stance against those magics, and the Russian Ministry took notice. They recruited me straight out of school.

With the war you have going on here, I decided my talents could be put to better use, than in my country which is currently being left out of your war. I wish to help stop it here before it spreads any further than it already has."

She finished her speech with an air of defiance, as if daring the Death Eaters to challenge her intelligence.

Harry and Arthur stood, both shaking her hand, and introducing themselves.

She flashed Harry a pretty smile, and held onto his hand just a moment noticeably longer than necessary.

"Gentleman shall we begin?"

xxx

Three hours later Harry was sitting in his office, head spinning from all he had learned.

The packet Hermione had given him yesterday sat in front of him on his desk, unopened, as Harry mentally prepared himself for whatever else it was that he was about to learn.

His fingers shook as he unsealed the envelope and shook out the contents, a large folder with papers stuffed inside, and a small glass vial that contained what looked like a pensieve memory.

Harry walked to the table where his alcohol collection sat, and opened the cabinet beneath it, it was ministry standard that every office held a pensieve. Memories were the main method of evidence held by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He sat the heavy stone basin on his desk, and mentally prepared himself for the uncomfortable sensation of being sucked through time.

Taking a deep breath he poured the contents into the basin.

Moments later Harry stood in the corner of a dark, dingy room.

It wasn't all that different than the room he'd sat in with Arthur not too many hours ago.

Except that this time one of the rickety old chairs had a man tied to it.

His hands were bound behind his back magically, and his face bruised and bloody. Like he'd been beaten within an inch of his life.

Nonetheless Harry recognized the man he had not so long ago brought to his superiors for justice on suspicion of Death Eater activity.

"Persius Parkinson" the voice made Harry jump, "do you deny knowledge of the whereabouts of the Death Eater Rodolphus Lestrange?" It was Dawlish, Harry was puzzled.

The man in the chair nodded, and there was a sickening crunch as Dawlish's fist collided with the defenseless man's face.

Harry wanted to cry out, but knew no one would hear him. This was barbaric! This was not how the Auror's office handled interrogations! Harry had handed them this man with the expectations that his investigation would be handled with Justice and integrity.

Parkinson spit blood on the ground and laughed. Instantly Dawlish's wand was at his throat, "I could kill you right here and now, no one would even miss you, you Death Eater scum" he growled.

Parkinson's eyes glinted like steel in the candlelight.

"Kill me if you want, Auror" he spat.

"My Lord's vision will be seen to completion and there is nothing you or your damned ministry can do to stop us"

Dawlish hit him again, hard enough to make the chair fall sideways.

The senior Auror trained his wand on Parkinson's still form still bound to the chair, lying at an awkward angle on the cold stone floor.

"I'll ask you one more time Parkinson, and then I'm not going to play nicely anymore" Dawlish said, Harry could hear the hatred threading his voice, "where is Rodolphus Lestrange?"

Parkinson just laughed.

Dawlish kicked the chair in frustration.

"CRUCIO!" He bellowed, and Harry was sickened as he watched Pansy's father lay still on the floor, his bindings the only thing keeping him from writhing in pain. It was disgusting.

Dawlish kept his wand trained on Parkinson far longer than was in any way humane, not that any use of the Cruciatus Curse was humane.

After what seemed like an absurdly long time Parkinson began to foam at the mouth, his screams turning to faint gurgles as he began to choke on his own bile.

Harry did cry out now, trying to stop Dawlish, knowing that it was futile, and he just watched, wondering how Dawlish was any better than the man he sought to find.

Was this how it had looked when the Lestranges had tortured the Longbottoms into insanity? How was this senior Auror, a man Harry had known his entire life in the wizarding world, a man he had served next to, how was he any better right now than the darkness he was allegedly fighting to stop?

"Stop!" Parkinson choked out between screams.

"Stop! I'll tell you everything I know!"

Dawlish didn't stop. Not immediately anyway. Harry was sure Dawlish had heard him.

Finally after far too long, Dawlish removed his wand, leaving Parkinson panting on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

Harry wanted to vomit at the display of brutality displayed by one of his own. This was not how the Auror office was supposed to conduct itself. They were supposed to be a beacon of hope and light, not fear and pain and hatred.

"Wales….." Parkinson choked out between gasps of air. "He's in Wales"

Harry was filled with a sense of boiling rage as he was thrown out of the memory, back into his chair. He wanted to take the memory to Kingsley and confront him with it, but he allowed himself a moment to cool down. His hands shaking with fury, he opened the folder containing the case file.

It seemed Harry had been played, he became more and more angry as he read over the reports.

A tip had come from Lucius Malfoy that he had suspicions that Persius Parkinson had been secretly funding Death Eater efforts throughout the war. As Voldemort had began to view Lucius as more and more worthless to his cause, Lucius became less and less privy to the workings of Voldemort's inner circle, so he couldn't be one hundred percent sure. He only knew what he'd been able

To glean from the connections he still had within the ranks of the Death Eaters.

Someone had been funneling cash through to the Death Eater ranks, someone had been controlling real estate on a large level so the Death Eater's would have several safe houses in the event that the war was not on their side. Lucius had done his due digging and concluded that the only family with enough gold to fund an operation on such a large scale, had to have been the richest of the old wizarding families. The Parkinsons.

Harry and another junior Auror under his watch, had spent two full months staking out Parkinson Manor, intercepting communications, and monitoring their floo network and travel habits.

Parkinson was smart, he kept it all from his family. Pansy and Persephone Parkinson hadn't heard a whisper about his involvement, as he'd convinced his family that he took a neutral stance in the war.

Harry had noticed the way he doted on his daughter, Pansy was his world. Harry could remember thinking that if he was guilty, it was probably because he honestly thought he was making the world a better place for his family. That or that the Death Eaters had blackmailed him into it.

Notes were placed here that on the night shifts Harry hadn't taken, Dawlish had taken over the watch, forcing Harry's trainee out of his designated job.

Dawlish had watched Parkinson commit several murders, torture, and extortion. Never stopping him, but gathering Intel for the ministry under orders from Kingsley and the board.

When finally they had enough evidence to make a case, Harry was directed to conduct a raid on the Parkinson's home. Harry could remember thinking it was too early, as far as he had known at the time, it was too early, they had nothing. He hadn't known about the things Dawlish had seen, the Ministry had kept him in the dark.

Parkinson surrendered without protest, claiming he had nothing to hide, not wanting a fight to break out that could potentially harm his family in the crossfire. Harry could remember the look of horror and anger on Pansy's face as he bound her father's hands behind his back and led him from the manor.

Upon his arrival to the ministry, Harry had handed Parkinson over to Kingsley, who told Harry he would be escorted to Azkaban until his trial. Except that there was never a trial. Harry had been told that there was not sufficient evidence after a month of holding him, and that he had been released and cleared of charges but would be kept under a close watch for a while. The reality was an entirely different story.

Parkinson had never gone to Azkaban. Kingsley had handed him over to Dawlish to be taken to a secure Ministry building deep in the slums of muggle London, somewhere on Fleet Street. For a month he'd been tortured and treated gruesomely, all leading up to the moment Harry had witnessed in the memory.

Parkinson gave up everything. The exact location of Lestrange's safe house in Wales, along with a rundown of the defenses around the property. He gave them the names of the Death Eaters stationed there. He gave them every bit of information they'd asked for.

And then they let him go. No witness protection, no defense, nothing. They just cut him loose.

It hit Harry like a tidal wave of horror, everything had now clicked into place. This was why Pansy had been kindnapped. Everything that had happened to her, all of it, the Ministry was at fault, his department was at fault. They had found out somehow that Pansy's father had given up the information, and they had attempted to take their pound of flesh. The realization also dawned on Harry that the Death Eaters hadn't received that pound of flesh. Pansy was still very much in danger.


	5. Chapter 5

Once again, thank you for your patience. I tried to make this one a longer one for you guys :) some big stuff happens in this chapter! I hope you enjoy it. I wanna throw a huge thank you to my best friend/ beta, she's been a wonderful help in filling in some gaps and adding some depth to places where I needed more.

Enjoy guys :), the interesting parts will be starting soon.

xxx

Harry stormed past a very puzzled Hermione, throwing open the doors to Kingsley's office.

Kingsley stood, but Harry's wand was at his throat before he even knew what he was doing.

Kingsley's eyes went wide.

"Give me one good fucking reason why I shouldn't have you arrested on the spot right now for treason!" Harry spat. "Torture Kingsley? Is that really what we're resorting to now? "

Kingsley opened his mouth to respond but Harry wasn't finished.

"Directing members of MY office to use illegal methods of interrogation Kingsley. You authorized Dawlish to use a curse in a noncombat situation that could put him in prison for life, and probably will when I bring this information to the Wizengamont!"

"Harry!" Hermione yelled from the doorway. "Harry Potter put your wand away right now! He is the Minister for Magic!" Harry shifted to the side so he could see Hermione, while still keeping an eye on Kingsley. "Hermione walk away. Shut the door and walk away." He said more calmly than he thought possible at the moment. She just stood there, gaping at him. "HERMIONE SHUT THE GOD DAMN DOOR!" He yelled, losing his patience.

She shook her head, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "I can't do that Harry I'm sorry, put the wand down or I'm going to have to call security."

Harry was dumbfounded. He felt betrayed, Hermione was going to side with them.

"Hermione they're torturing people! Lives have been lost! Lives have been put in danger because of them!" He pleaded with her.

"And if I hadn't already known that Harry, you would be tried for treason on the charge of mishandling classified information. Now please put your wand down!"

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. She knew? Hermione knew and she was letting this happen?

Harry turned to look Kingsley in the eye and in that split second his wand was soaring accords the room to land in Hermione's outstretched hand. "I'm sorry Harry, I really am" she said tearfully, "minister what would you like me to do?"

Kingsley calmly beckoned for Harry to sit. "Shut the door if you would please Miss Granger, Auror Potter and I evidently have much to discuss, please keep his wand until he leaves and then you may give it back to him"

Hermione nodded and closed the door. Harry defiantly took his seat, contemplating the ramifications of leaping over Kingsley's desk to physically assault the minister.

The two men sat staring at each other for a moment. "Talk, Kingsley"

Harry finally choked out through gritted teeth.

Kingsley looked at Harry as though he wanted to to reprimand him for his disrespect, but he didn't. He wordlessly rose and poured two glasses of an expensive looking dark liquor. He sat one of the glasses on the desk in front of Harry and went to stand behind his desk at the window, watching the bustling muggle street below.

A long silence passed before he finally spoke.

"Harry. When I took this job, we were, and we still are in a state of war." He said. "I took leadership of the ministry with goals and hopes much like the ones you shared with me upon taking your new job the last time you sat in that chair.

I had visions of reform, of dismantling the corruption of the establishment. Corruption that Fudge turned a blind eye to, corruption that Scrimgeour embraced. Little did I know how far it had saturated into the mechanisms of the Ministry itself. There are things you don't, and can't know about Harry, it is the order of things. There are certain things that your new position afford you, new knowledge. I am assuming from your outburst that you witnessed Dawlish's actions against Persius Parkinson? Harry this is nothing new. Twenty years ago, during the first war I sat exactly where you are right now outcrying my adamant opposition to these tactics. Dumbledore opposed them. Ministry covert operations and 'advanced interrogation methods' were implemented long before either of us Harry. The Minister at the time of Grindelwald's reign was a Lestrange did you know that? It shouldn't surprise you to learn that he was the one who passed an executive order against the Wizengamont's wishes, to allow the methods we still use today.

These methods were used in the first war against Voldemort. They were more widespread then. Now it has become an emergency measure only. When I first became an Auror it was the standard procedure for every Death Eater we brought through those doors.

"Harry don't think for one minute that I approve the methods we've had to use. We did everything we could do to glean the information we needed. This war has lasted far too long. We'd been searching for Lestrange for four long years. I want this war to end Harry, and I confess that I thought it would with Lestrange being brought to justice.

So yes Harry, when Dawlish came to me after a week of not being able to get Parkinson to crack, I approved his use of the Criciatus curse to get the information I needed. The board, and the Wizengamont were both required to vote on the decision as well as witness my signing of the document.

"Torture is not something I or the members of my administration take lightly Harry, but in some extreme cases it is a dark necessity of the job. I pray that someday maybe it won't be, but for now, in extreme cases, it is. I know that a lot of information you have taken in today is probably burning a hole in your brain at the moment, and I will do my best to answer any questions you have. That being said, I will warn you once and only once Potter, if I ever find your wand at my throat again without due reason, I will have you thrown in Azkaban for the rest of your days, chosen one or not. Do I make myself clear?"

Kingsley held out his hand, and after a solid hesitation, Harry shook it. He still didn't like it, but he had bigger problems to deal with now.

"So what do we do about Pansy?" Harry asked. "I don't even know how you view it Kingsley, maybe she's just collateral damage to you, but for some god unknown reason I care about this girl. It's our fault the Death Eaters are after her. We're responsible for this. She will not be safe until this war is over and you know that. So what the bloody hell do we do? This is a young, innocent girl's life at stake, she has a bright future in front of her if she survives this war, and because of us she has a huge bloody target on her back!"

Kingsley smiled at Harry from across the desk. "I don't know Harry, what would you like to do? This is your investigation, she is your responsibility, you are Head Auror. I will go with your call on what you think we should do"

Harry had a plan already, he just hadn't thought Kingsley would be so easy to convince.

"I want to keep her safe" Harry said simply. "It doesn't need to be a full blown ministry operation, I don't need to use up that many resources. She would be too easy to track if she had the full protection that the ministry had to give her. You say that I'm making the decisions here? Well this is what I want to do. The ministry has its slew of safe houses, but we haven't moved locations on any of them since we secured ourselves from Death Eater infiltration. I want to set up a new, secure safe house for her. I'll need two of my men. That is all the resources I'll need from my department. I will personally take over the role of her main guard and all that you know that entails. Before you object I know that I'm the head Auror and I have my own duties to perform. I will move into the house full time until the case has been resolved, and I will come to work every day just like I normally do. I will still perform my duties. This is why I need the two other men. I want two solid men that I can trust, there to guard her at all times when I'm here. We'll need a small team to set up wards around the house, but I don't want them knowing the location. They can teach me how to establish the defenses. I don't want anyone but myself and the other two men knowing the location Kingsley, that includes you or the board or the Wizengamont. This will be a minimal risk, minimal resource operation, the smaller I keep it, the smaller the risk of getting caught"

Kingsley looked at him in silence for a moment and Harry could see the gears turning in his mind.

"I can't see any of your requests being an issue Potter. I will back your plan in full, but we still need to run it by Arthur, and the board. They'll need to approve it as well. I think you've put a lot of thought into this, and it's a solid plan. It shows me that I really did pick the best man for the job. Go to St. Mungo's and discuss this with Pansy, it's her life we can't force her into hiding. Don't reveal any classified information Harry, she can't even know that her father was a Death Eater. The public story is all the information she gets to know, I'm sorry but that's the way it has to be. While you do this I will present your plan to the appropriate parties and try to get it approved, meet me back here in two hours and I'll have an answer for you."

xxx

Pansy just gaped up at him. "And how long does this last exactly, Potter?" She asked, Harry had known she wouldn't be thrilled about the idea.

"Pansy, I honestly don't know, this could be a long term thing. It's the only way we keep you alive. They're still out there and they're still out for your blood, they want to send your father a message and they won't rest until it's painted across the walls in your blood. I promised you I wouldn't let anyone hurt you anymore and this is me keeping that promise."

She looked at him critically, taking in all the new information.

"You're not coming to live with me Potter. That's all there is to it. You can check on me whenever you want, you can sit outside my door all damned hours of the night…. I may even invite you in for tea occasionally, but you are NOT coming to live with me"

The defiance and finality in her voice was just triggering Harry's frustration.

"Damn it Pansy!" He growled, smashing his fist down on the table, causing her to flinch.

"You still don't get it do you?" He said, "with everything you went through I would think you would know full and well what they're capable of. That you would want to do everything in your power to make sure it doesn't happen again!"

Her eyes deadened out and she stared at him with hollow eyes, "Trust me Potter" she said, "I will never forget what those monsters are capable of".

Harry hadn't meant to strike a nerve, but he had to get it through her stubborn head how much danger she was really in.

"Pansy don't make me force this. We can put you in witness protection, and I'll have to fill out a lot of paperwork, you'll go to a seedy, run down safe house that we can't be sure the Death Eaters don't know about. You'd have round the clock Auror protection, and it would be trainees. Witpro isn't a job for the high profile Aurors. You would have no privacy, no life for yourself. I can force you to do that. That's not what I want to do. What I'm offering you is a nice place, once that meets your standard of living, with the best protection I can offer, and the Head Auror personally protecting you at all times. I will give you whatever privacy you need, and unlike Witpro, you'll even be allowed to leave the house and have a life. Certain measures will just have to be taken to ensure your safety."

She looked at him as if daring him to force her into witness protection, but Harry would do what he had to do to keep her safe.

Finally she spoke, "Fine Potter but the first time I find you raiding my panty drawer… You'll have to throw me in Azkaban to keep yourself safe" Harry could see the hint of a smile playing at her lips, and he was relieved that she had agreed amicably.

"Thank you" Harry said. "I just want to make sure you don't have to go through what you went through again".

She looked at him with a slightly puzzled expression. In a rare moment of softened humanity she asked, "Harry, not that I don't appreciate it, not that I honestly haven't come to enjoy your company, but why do you care so much? You're the head Auror, surely one of your little minions could have taken my case. What makes this, what makes me so important to you? You've been sweet and kind and compassionate through this entire ordeal. Do you forget that just four years ago, I tried to sell you out to Voldemort?"

Harry could see the remorse in her eyes, she almost looked timid as she waited for him to answer. Truth be told, Harry didn't have an answer. At first it had been guilt, but now that feeling had been pushed aside, Harry no longer felt like he was solely responsible. The blame could be mostly placed at Kingsley's feet for the decisions he had made after they had information on Lestrange. Harry had spent time with this girl over the last few days and come to the conclusion that she wasn't nearly as bad as everyone thought she was.

"There's more to you than meets the eye, Pansy Parkinson. You're not who I thought you were. Who you are, this you that I have spent the last few days with, I'm more than curious to find out a little more about that girl" he said, causing her to flush slightly, throwing Harry off guard, he had never seen Pansy Parkinson blush in all his years of knowing her. It was actually kind of pretty.

Oh god! Was he…. Was he flirting with Pansy Parkinson? What's more was she enjoying it?

"Well, I guess you'll have plenty of time to get to know me if we'll be living together for the rest of the war" she said meekly.

Harry cleared his throat and nodded, "I'd better be getting back to make the preparations. We need to have everything ready by the time you're discharged so we can move you directly to the safe house"

As he got up and walked to the door Pansy called his name, causing him to look back. "I'm - I'm a little interested in finding out more about you too. Harry Potter, not the boy who lived, just the boy."

This couldn't be happening.

xxx

Back at his office Harry's head was spinning. Kingsley had gotten his idea approved, and they were now taking the necessary steps to secure Pansy's safety.

The first item on the agenda had been to find a house. Harry had informed Kingsley he would be taking Pansy out of the country as it seemed like the best way to make sure her day to day anonymity was intact when she was out and about. Kingsley had come back stating that the British Ministry would not legally be allowed to purchase property for government use in another country. At first this had seemed like a problem but the more Harry thought about it the more it seemed to be for the best. They still didn't know if they were one hundred percent free from Death Eater infiltration, and a large property purchase coming from the ministry would look rather suspicious to outside eyes. In a spur of the moment decision Harry had offered to pay for the place out of his own pocket. Being heir to both the Potter and Black fortunes as well as the sizeable salary he now made as head Auror, afforded him the resources to be able to live more than comfortably.

"I've always wanted a summer home in Italy" Harry joked to Kingsley.

After meeting with a realtor, it hadn't taken Harry long to pick out a place with plenty of room that he and Pansy could share comfortably. It would be nice as a get away once the war was over and she had moved out as well. So all in all, it wasn't a waste of his gold. It was a beautiful old villa on the Italian mountainside, overlooking a vineyard. There was a sizeable wine cellar, a lot of land, and plenty of seclusion. This would make sure Pansy would be hard to find, but it was still close enough to a small town that she would be able to get out and enjoy some freedom so she didn't feel like a prisoner.

Harry spent a good portion of the week making plans and preparations. When it came time to organize the defenses and wards around the house Harry had mixed emotions about who the Department of Mysteries had sent.

"The apparition point will be here" Alexandra said, pointing to a place on the map. "Once you are past this point, all transport magics will be nullified. There is no flooing in or out of the house, brooms will hit a solid barrier upon contact." She laughed lightly at the mental image and Merlin, Harry could probably produce a Patronus with that sound alone for months.

She definitely noticed the turn his thoughts were taking, for she continued talking with a corner of her lips quirked upwards in half a smirk, "There will be a fidelius charm placed around the entire property so that the whole place is visible only to you, and whoever else needs to come and go out of necessity."

Harry really was trying to listen, but her dress was riding up her thighs as she bent over the map, and he really couldn't help but track his eyes down her legs. Her skin was tan and inviting, flawless over toned muscle. It almost made his mouth water. He shook his head to clear the thoughts from his mind as he tried to remember to stay professional.

It seemed like she had an endless amount of charts and graphs to go over, as well as spell theory so Harry could apply the defenses to the house himself. They were keeping the operation very secretive, the defense team wouldn't even know where the house was. Alexandra would come up with the plan, teach Harry the theory, and he would apply the wards himself. She had no idea what she was protecting or where, just that it was incredibly important to keep everything out of the property Harry showed her.

To visualize the complex warding system, Alexandra dimmed the lights and wordlessly conjured a perfect model of the house and grounds above the table between them. She illuminated the ideal wardstone anchor points to show Harry for what she had planned already and where he should focus his defenses in case of attack to cover the weaker areas.

"How's your Elder Futhark, Potter?" She asked with mirth dancing behind blue eyes. The light given off by her conjuration set the room in a warm golden glow and did things to her skin tone and jawline that he wasn't going to think about. He _wasn't_.

Harry was suddenly apprehensive. "Passable, why?"

That laugh again, but it wasn't as enjoyable when it was directed at him.

"Potter, you will need that alphabet to translate the Western Sumerian script into something you understand. I've based this entire schema on intent and purpose. Sumerian has the most characters out of any known runic language. The Western _dialect_ , so to speak, is the most descriptive Sumerian gets, ergo, the most descriptive any runic language gets." She exhaled, in frustration or resignation, he didn't know.

"It's a difficult language with an even more complex alphabet. Sumer was one of the first and largest human settlements, six to seven thousand years ago. The language developed with the people who settled there for thousands of years, the Empires that rose and fell, and the many people they traded with in distant lands. Western Sumerian is a snapshot of European contact and influence on this ancient civilization thousands of years ago, which is why you will need a fluency in Elder Futhark to cast these wards."

Harry swore under his breath. Ron and Hermione were the runic experts.

She slumped her shoulders and clicked her dark stiletto nails on the handle of her wand in thought. He noticed it was ashy and pale, nearly a bleached yellow wood with thin swirling bands the color of burnt blood and small black dots that might have been scorch marks on the tree it was sourced from.

"Potter, Harry… I'm not expecting you to learn two dead languages in a handful of hours or days, though there are potions for that." _Illegal_ , went unsaid but understood by the both of them.

"But," she huffed, "you do need to be able to properly _intend_ the result of the wards you're setting up around this property. I don't know why you need something this intense, or what you're protecting, but it seems important and I want to help you succeed. Sumerian runes will guide your intent better than freecasting these wards. There are maybe a dozen and a half ways to describe a singular action in this alphabet that we only use one or two words for today. The bane of all intent warding is wording. I essentially eliminated the intent loopholes for you. It will be a lot to learn in a short period of time, but it covers all your bases."

She idly tugged on a strand of hair framing her face and seemed to reach a decision. From the floor by her chair, she pulled up a stylish black leather tote with gleaming silver metalwork decorating the sides. The giant packet she retrieved from it was definitely too thick to fit without an expansion charm on the bag. She silently duplicated it and banished the second packet across the table to him in one flick of her wand. Harry was impressed, he knew the wand movements to both of those charms and she didn't use either one.

"Here, Potter. This is a copy on all the notes I've made on this particular warding scheme. I've been advised that arithmancy and runes aren't subjects you've specialized in, so just trust that they work and that I _did_ specialize. Very early in my education, at that."

She smiled at him, "So, just skip over them if they make your eyes hurt."

Harry chuckled and ignored the taunt in favor of opening her notes. Her handwriting was a spidery cursive that, while legible, lent an ambiance of formality to them, making him think the subject matter belonged in an old handwritten textbook. And maybe it did, these were the most ancient of ancient runes.

Alexandra pushed her chair back and got up from the table. On her way out of the room, she paused and gently placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"This magic is _old_ , Potter. Take care when you charge these runes, the usual rules do not apply."

He nodded and flipped forward a few pages, still entranced by her thought process.

She squeezed his shoulder in parting and adjusted her bag.

"There's a translation table at the back, but like I said earlier, I used Elder Futhark, not English. I'll be in my office if you need help, just ask the spinning room in the DoM for my name and it'll sort you out."

He was then left alone with his churning thoughts, the subtle smell of spice and white florals, and a thick book of notes that he had to memorize in a scant few days. Harry hoped that Pansy would finally be safe from here on out.

xxx

Harry hand picked the other two Aurors that would accompany him on the case, swearing them to absolute secrecy under threat of perjury and mishandling classified information. He picked Dean Thomas who had become quite an accomplished Auror on his own, and he picked Blaize Zabini, out of the sheer fact that he felt Pansy needed a friend.

After the initial meeting ended Harry pulled Blaise off to the side.

"You swore an oath Zabini, and I won't take this lightly. If I even get a hint you've spilled any of this information to your little friends, I will strip you of your rank and toss your ass in Azkaban. I know your friends are concerned for her, but this is what we have to do to keep her safe, am I understood?" Harry put all of the authority he could into his voice. Zabini just nodded gracefully "Completely understood sir, I just want what's best for my friend"

xxx

At the week's end it seemed all the plans were finally in place, Harry rose with a stiff back from the sofa in Pansy's room at St. Mungo's where he had once again slept. She was full of nerves and apprehension about what was to happen today, so Harry had stayed with her to help her keep calm.

He apparated back to his flat, looking around as it would be the last time he saw it for a while. His bags and necessities had already been moved to the safe house, along with a plethora of things he'd bought for Pansy. It had been too dangerous to go back to her parent's manor to get anything of hers, so he'd just bought her some clothing and necessities. She would have a monthly allowance from the ministry to spend on anything else she needed as long as she was in hiding.

Harry's nerves were shot as he quickly showered and shaved, mentally preparing himself for what was to come. The last time he had executed an escape plan like this, had been the escape to The Burrow on his seventeenth birthday, and that had not gone at all as planned. He freshened up, making sure he looked his best, and went over his speech again, today was to begin with a press conference, the ministry had leaked to the Prophet that there was some news in the Parkinson case and all of Wizarding Britain was waiting with baited breath.

Harry was swamped with reporters as soon as he stepped in the ministry, guards and other Auror's having met him at the entrance to keep them back. Camera flashes assaulted his eyes as he tried to make it through the crowd to the podium. It was as if he was walking in a daze as he climbed the steps to the wooden stage, straightening his tie as he went. Looking over the crowd all he could see were people hungry for a scrap of story, they didn't even care about the person involved, just their story. Harry squinted into the lights pointed at the stage, barely able to make out the sea of reporters beneath him, and he began the speech he'd been rehearsing for days.

"Witches and Wizards of Wizarding Britain" he began, "My name is Harry Potter, and I am the Head Auror for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. As many of you know, the Ministry of Magic has these past few months, tripled our war effort against the shrinking band of criminals known as the New Death Eater Order. We at the ministry view it as prudent to keep the community at large informed of what's happening on our side of the war effort, and as you may know, we've made staggering progress in the last few months. Just one month ago, I myself led a highly trained squad of elite Aurors into a stronghold in Wales, where we cut the head off the dragon once again, just like we did four years ago with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Rodolphus Lestrange was killed in a brilliant firefight between the Death Eaters and the squad of Aurors. We lost two very good men that day, may they rest in peace and their memories live in places of honor in our hearts. For the two we lost, a good portion of Lestranges men were eliminated in the raid. I tell you this so that you can sleep easy knowing that we are pushing as hard as we can back at these monsters.

Upon my return to London, I was given another very high profile case. A kidnapping. Persius and Persephone Parkinson stood fast against The Dark Lord during the war, staying neutral against all expectations from the Death Eaters. They did not sink to the level of common criminals, they held themselves up with dignity and stuck to their beliefs. For this their daughter Pansy was kidnapped, and put through an indescribable, inhumane month of torture at the hands of these animals. We were able to find Mrs. Parkinson relatively quickly, she was being held captive at a safe house by a circle of Death Eaters led by Antonin Dolohov. While Dolohov and several others escaped the raid, we were able to rescue Mrs. Parkinson and subdue or kill a good portion of the Death Eaters present in the manor.

Mrs. Parkinson was admitted to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries two weeks ago. The healers did everything they could, but unfortunately the injuries Mrs. Parkinson sustained at the hands of the Death Eaters were too much, she passed peacefully in her sleep last night at just after eleven o'clock.

It is with a grave heart that I bring you this news, as the Ministry will never take life lightly. I went to school with Pansy Parkinson, and while it was well known that we were not friends at school, we had both put any issues to rest that we once had with each other.

Pansy was a bright young witch with a wide future in front of her, a brilliant flame snuffed out by the darkness at the prime of its life.

I and the ministry wish our deepest condolences to any friends and family of Mrs. Parkinson that may be listening to this on their radio at home. She was and will be remembered as a brilliant soul who was taken too early in a time far too dark. Mark my words, her death will not go unpunished, and it will not be in vain.

We are pushing closer to the end of this war and the Death Eaters are running scared like dogs with their tails between their legs. We will finish this, and those who have stood against this community and terrorized it for far too long, will be brought to justice!

The ministry has no further comment at this time".

Harry finished his speech to a round of thundering applause, he shook Kingsley's hand as they traded spots, "Good luck Harry" he whispered as the men leaned towards each other. Kingsley took the podium and began to speak, and Harry rushed off the backside of the stage, all but sprinting down the hall to the elevator.

Upon entering his office Harry made sure his desk and door were locked, and all his things were packed away, he wouldn't be back for a while, as to help Pansy settle into her new arrangement.

Taking some powder from the jar on his mantle Harry stepped into the fire and floo'd to St. Mungos.

Upon his arrival Harry was met at wand point by several of his men. They had the floo network blocked off from any traffic but his own fireplace today, the Hospital citing that it was running routine maintenance and that apparition to the foyer would be the only access point for the day.

Harry strode with purpose towards Pansy's room, six of his best men on his tail, Ron directly to his right. Pansy was standing on her own when he arrived, dressed for the first time since she'd left the dungeons, in something other than a hospital gown. Harry had instructed her to dress warm, and so she wore a pair of jeans, a plain black hoodie, and a very fashionable scarf. Some things never changed. Her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she wore warm boots on her feet, she looked better than Harry had so far seen her, far less vulnerable on her own two feet. She looked ready to travel.

Pansy's eyes were wide with anticipation as Harry strode into her room, this wasn't the Harry who had been by her bedside nearly every night just to make sure she was ok, this wasn't the Harry that had taken care of her since she's been rescued. This was the Harry Potter she'd seen down in those dungeons, tall and full of purpose, Harry Potter the Auror, he who had brought down the Dark Lord.

Scanning the room, Harry barked orders at his men and they scrambled to obey. Smiling warmly at Pansy he handed her his invisibility cloak. "Put this on, it's just an extra bit of security until we get out of here, I'll need you to hold onto my arm so I know you're still there, but as soon as we're gone you can take it off." He said to her, and she nodded her understanding.

Preparations made, it was time to execute the second phase of the plan. Harry led his men down the hall, Pansy gripping his hand tightly, leaving his other arm free to keep his wand at the ready. They went up the service stairwell, all the way to the roof, where Harry's men barricaded the door behind him. Harry told Pansy she could remove the cloak, and she did, stuffing it into her enchanted bag for safe keeping.

Harry turned to Ron, embracing his friend. "Be safe mate" Ron said thumping him on the back. Harry nodded, his nerves too bundled in his stomach to allow proper speech.

Harry's Firebolt was waiting propped up against the ledge, and Pansy's eyes widened. "Harry NO!" She yelled. "I don't do heights Potter, it's not proper for a pureblood young lady, can't we just apparate?"

Harry rolled his eyes in slight annoyance, his Auror gruffness coming out a bit too strong.

"Parkinson I don't give a flying fuck what is 'proper' right now. Your safety is my priority and this is the only method of travel that can't be traced, watched, or intercepted, and unless someone physically follows us, which I have wards up to prevent, then we can make it to our destination safely. Now get on, hold tight, and we'll be done before you know it."

Pansy hesitated, not used to him talking to her like that. She understood that he was stressed, trying to do everything he could to protect her, and making sure this well thought out plan was executed perfectly. She nodded timidly and climbed on behind him, wrapping her arms right around his waist and squinting her eyes closed.

As soon as she was situated Harry kicked off in a thunderous gust of wind, rocketing into the air. God how he missed flying, it had been too long.

Harry couldn't remember the last time he had actually flown, probably before the war. It had been entirely too long, and he almost lost himself in the pure thrill of it.

Harry rocketed upwards and spun in a full out barrel roll, coming to rest just above the clouds. He would have forgotten Pansy was even there had she not been screaming the whole time.

He sat with his eyes closed, taking in the fresh air, the sunshine on his face, and remembered why he had developed such a love for flying in the first place. It was freedom.

"I'm not going to let you fall Pansy, at least try to enjoy it. The fresh air, the sun, the feeling like you can reach out and touch the clouds."

He turned to give her a slight smile, they were going to be on this broom for quite a while, he didn't want her to be stressed the whole way.

Pansy's arms tightened in a death grip around his waist, but she actually opened her eyes. A small whimper escaped her throat as she realized how high they were. Up here above the clouds, London was just a series of tiny dots below them. "I'm sorry Pansy I know that you're scared" Harry said, "but this is going to be a long ride. I'll do my best to keep you comfortable, and I won't force you to stay up here all night. We'll make a good amount of progress, stop for a quick lunch, go some more, and then we'll find somewhere to bunk down for the night. We should still make good time early tomorrow"

Pansy seemed to steel herself, determination to not be afraid evident in her eyes. Once again Harry couldn't help but wonder at how brave this girl could actually be when she wanted to, and it struck him at how scared she must have actually been all those years ago as she tried to hand him over to the Death Eaters.

Harry urged his broom forward, rocketing off through the clouds, trying to keep the ride as smooth as he could for Pansy's sake, but nonetheless keeping a constant speed so they would make good time.

They flew for hours, long enough for Harry to grow uncomfortable, so he knew Pansy, who was unused to being on a broom for long stretches, was probably far worse off. Finally sometime just before sunset they dropped below the clouds. The both of them were wet, and Pansy was shaking. Harry hovered just below the cloud line scanning the horizon, trying to gain his bearings. They had to be somewhere over France by now.

Harry angled towards the ground and flew lower until he started to see familiar landmarks. With a plan in mind Harry put down just outside of Macon.

As Pansy dismounted the broom her legs gave out and Harry rushed forward to catch her. Their faces inches apart, her breath caught in her chest as his eyes searched her face. Harry's heart was pounding and he didn't know if it was from adrenaline, or something else all together. As if suddenly realizing their position, Pansy placed her hand on his shoulder, using him to regain her own footing, and putting some space between the two. She cleared her throat, and he averted his gaze, the two looking anywhere but at each other.

Harry's mind was buzzing at what may have just almost happened, he chalked it up to her vulnerability, and the rush of flying, he couldn't honestly _want_ to kiss Pansy Parkinson. Could he?

Harry shook it off, yet as he stretched his own cramped muscles he could feel Pansy's eyes burning a hole in his back as she stared.

Harry shrunk his broom to the size of one of the miniature broom models wizarding children played with, and handed it to Pansy. Her bag was the only luggage they'd brought with them, so it seemed she was the designated pack horse for the duration of the trip. Reaching into his pocket, Harry felt cold metal as his fingers wrapped around the objects he was searching for. He held a pristine diamond ring out to Pansy, and she cocked an eyebrow at him, looking at him like he was stupid. "Just… Erm…. Just while we're here… I … Er that is to say… The ministry thought it would be good for our cover if we uh…. Well we're supposed to pretend to be honeymooning" Harry stuttered out, not entirely sure why he was so embarrassed.

Pansy actually laughed. Out loud. "How exactly is that supposed to work Potter?" She asked between giggles. "You're the Wizarding World's most eligible bachelor, cover of _Witch Weekly_ and the Prophet every other bloody day. Don't you think people here will recognize you? You can't exactly be married to a dead girl can you?"

Harry waited for her laughing to subside before he answered. "There's a reason I picked this town Pansy" he said gently,

"The Ministry has used this little hamlet before for some of their more delicate intelligence operations. It's population is almost all Muggle, little to no wizarding populace at all. It's actually quite peaceful to come here where no one knows who I am."

Pansy's laughter subsided abruptly "No magic? There are no wizards here at all? So you expect me to live here like a muggle for the night?" She asked, the disgust evident in her voice. Hints of the old Pansy were creeping to the forefront. Harry couldn't help but grin, "Pansy we'll be here for a week. The plan is to lie low for a little bit and lose any type of tail we've picked up. Muggle territory is always the best place to lose a Death Eater. They don't think like I do. Why would a couple of Wizards want to spend a week among the filthy Muggles?"

Pansy folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. "You're pushing your luck, Potter" she said icily, reminding Harry of the girl he'd grown up with at Hogwarts. This was going to be a fun trip.

xxx

Harry allowed Pansy to wander the small town while he found them a room for the week. It wasn't like she was in any danger, the ring he had given her had half a dozen protective enchantments layered into it. Alexandra had personally placed the wards on it herself. He figured that after all the time she'd spent trapped in that dungeon, followed directly by being cooped up in a hospital under lock and key, that she could really use a little freedom to make her feel better. He could see her from the window of the inn, he smiled as he watched her creep from storefront to storefront exploring the wares of this sleepy French village. Occasionally she would enter a store, and leave soon after with a new bag or two. Harry had given her enough Muggle money to buy her heart's desire, as everything she now owned had been picked out for her and nothing her choice.

Harry couldn't help but notice that she really had become quite pretty. Maybe she always had been, but Harry had never seen her like this. The sunset glittering off the French Riviera behind her, her long black hair in a braid down her front, her usually icy blue eyes full of a calm and a peace he'd never seen there. She had lost the constant scowl that usually adorned her face, and Harry found himself staring at the way her lips parted and her eyes widened in excitement whenever she saw something she liked. He watched her safely into another store, the sun was setting and he hoped she would come back soon, or else he would have to go and pry her away. She may be safer here than in London, but the night still held dangers they weren't equipped to face alone.

Harry turned to the desk, his half full glass of rum sitting next to the letter he'd begun for Kingsley. He sat and finished the letter, and the rum, sealing the envelope with a quick spell. With no owls available in this remote location, there was only one way to send the letter. He took the small vial of

floo powder from his robe pocket and tossed it into the fire. "The office of the Minister of Magic!" He said clearly, and tossed the letter into fire. Harry watched as it swirled up the chimney and disappeared, and sat back to enjoy another glass of spiced rum just as Pansy entered the room.

She dropped her bags on the bed, all but one small brown paper package she tossed at Harry, which he caught with a confused look on his face.

"Up Potter!" She cried, waving her arms. "I picked you out an outfit, you're taking me to dinner! It's the least you can do for trapping me here. There is an adorable looking little nook down near the docks that I'm dying to try, it smelled divine" she gathered up three or four of the bags as she spoke, heading into the bathroom. The door locked behind her and Harry was left sitting with the package in his lap, still processing what had just happened.

Harry heard the water in the bathroom turn on as Pansy prepared herself for a shower, and he deftly unwrapped the package to reveal a very well made white button down Oxford, and a silky black tie. Underneath was a handsome suit jacket and pair of dress slacks. A note attached to the tie in large and loopy writing said "Everything has been enchanted to fit properly, this is custom cut and very expensive, if you're to be portraying my husband, you have to dress the part. I may be in hiding, but I still have standards, Potter -Pansy."

Harry couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he laid the suit out on the bed. She was right about one thing, this outfit had to have cost a small fortune. How much money had he given her anyway?

Harry dressed in silence, and instead of waiting around the room, decided to go and check out the bar in the lobby of the inn, he had noted an impressive looking collection of drinks while checking in earlier.

Sitting at the exquisite oak bar some minutes later Harry sipped his scotch in silence as he gazed around, watching the comings and goings around him. Happy couples sat languidly in booths all around the bar. The dim lighting making for a romantic setting.

"Est-ce que cette place est occupée?" A silky voice whispered in his ear, and Harry whirled around. His jaw must have dropped.

Pansy stood behind him, from head to toe a vision of beauty. Her long black hair was swept up in an elegant updo, the makeup around her eyes subtle, yet just dark enough to bring out the piercing blue gaze that was settled on him. She wore a smear of some darker shade of lipstick, and her mouth was quirked in a half cocked smile. The dress she had chosen was a satin black, knee length, slit up to her thigh. It was strapless, and Harry honestly couldn't help but stare. She wore glittering silver diamond earrings, and a necklace to match, and dangerously tall black stilettos, which Harry couldn't help but notice, only accentuated the curves of her legs. The black fabric hugged all of her curves graciously and Harry marveled at how much Pansy Pug Face had grown into the gorgeous young woman standing before him.

"Pansy… You - You look…" Harry stuttered, standing to pull out a seat for her.

"I'm aware of how I look Potter" she sneered, the hints of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "You don't look so bad yourself, I guess you do clean up nicely." She said, reaching up to straighten his tie. She sat down next to Harry and hailed the bartender. "I'll have a tequila please" she said, smiling.

They sat and drank, and talked for what seemed like hours, and once again Harry was simply amazed at the change he had seen take place in this girl over the last few weeks. The Pansy he had grown up with seemed to have completely disappeared, and Harry felt a pang of regret once again for the things she had been put through that had caused the drastic change.

When they left the bar, the moon was bright in the cloudless sky, and a warm breeze wafted through the small town. Pansy walked close to Harry as they strolled down the riverbank, and on an impulse laced her hand into his "to keep up appearances" she said. Harry had a strong feeling that it wasn't truly the case, but he wasn't going to complain. Maybe it was just something in the air in the French countryside, but Harry was actually enjoying this time with Pansy. He didn't know what his feelings were towards her, and truth be told they were all sorts of confusing, but he knew outright that something was building inside him.

Pansy led him to a small restaurant with an open concept dining room, more of a villa. The walls were non existent on two sides, allowing diners to get the feeling they were dining outside. The tables were lit with candles, adding to a more subtly romantic mood. They sat together in a booth and Pansy cuddled up to Harry, further complicating his emotions. He had no idea what was happening right now. Was she really just playing a part? Or was she sending him the most obvious signals? All Harry knew was that every point of contact between them was on fire. His senses were assaulted by the smell of lavender wafting off of her hair, and some perfume that he couldn't place. He was finding it very hard to focus. The way she sat, with her back curled into his chest, she might as well have been straddling his lap. She kept glancing over her shoulder at him and Harry could have sworn she was wearing a very cheeky smirk.

They ate several courses of bread and pasta, and enough wine for Harry to start to feel a good buzz, and they made small talk that Harry found it all too difficult to concentrate on. Her bum was warm against his leg, and he could feels every one of her curves pressed against him. He was stuck in a vicious cycle. She felt good against him, so his nerves flared, causing him to drink more wine to calm himself, but the more he drank, the better she felt. She kept up with him drink for drink, and all the bread at that dinner table couldn't have kept him sober.

The took the longest possible route back to the hotel, Pansy with her heels in her hand, so she could walk barefoot down the beachside. Her long dark hair, released from the constraints of her updo, swished behind her, and Harry watched the way her hips swayed to some invisible rhythm. He was far too sloshed to think straight. She was flushed from the alcohol, shifting softly in the moonlight to some melody only she could hear, and she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. The entire scene just had a serenity about it that Harry wished he could capture and commit to memory forever. The breeze was lightly blowing her hair, and he could see her bright blue eyes shining in the moonlight.

"Potter," she said softly, "dance with me."

Merlin, this wasn't happening. _Yes_ , Harry thought, _anything you want tonight, Pansy_ , and slowly lifted her hand to lead, placing his other on the small of her back. The look in her eyes was fire and he swore he could see constellations reflected in her icy blue irises.

Sand made for an awful dance floor, but neither cared. They were too focused on their joined hands, her head settled softly on his chest. The small circles she was working into his bicep with her nails sent a warm static straight to his stomach and Harry wondered if his hand on her lower back felt as warm and electric to her as she did to him.

Pansy lost her footing for a second, alcohol and sand mixing to create an unstable combination, but she caught herself on Harry's shoulder before she could topple the both of them to the ground. Harry didn't think the could get much closer than before, but he was completely focused on the way she absently drug her nails up the base of his neck to find a better hold and started working circles again, this time into the side of his neck. Harry swallowed thickly. Needing to take his mind off the way he could feel her breath warming his cheek, he smirked mischievously into her hair and spun her around into a classic dip, reveling in how such a simple and unexpected thing could elicit joyful laughter from her.

When they finally stumbled back to the hotel, Harry fumbled with the keys for far too long, and just as he'd gotten the damned thing into the lock, Pansy grasped his arm and turned him to face her. She was inches from his face, he could smell the wine on her breath, feel her racing pulse through her fingers. Her eyes searched his, darting back and forth like she was begging for permission.

It happened suddenly, his lips were on hers and he was soaring above the clouds. She tasted like wine, salt water, and chocolate and Harry was drunk on her kiss. It was slow at first, soft, but it didn't stay that way for long. She pushed him into the door, hungry for more of what he had to give, and their tongues engaged in an age old dance, a battle for dominance.

Her arms were around his neck, fingers twisted in his hair and his hands were running up her sides, taking in the feel of all her soft curves. The kiss lit a fire in his belly like nothing he'd ever experienced before. He turned them around so that she was against the wall, and her leg came up to hook around his hip. He ran a calloused hand up her creamy thigh, reveling in the feel of her bare flesh. She heaved herself up and wrapped her other leg around his waist so that he was fully supporting her weight against the door.

She broke the kiss and looked into his eyes breathlessly. Her lips were red and swollen, and she nodded. Harry fumbled for the doorknob and carried her into the room, kicking the door forcefully shut behind him as he reached for the zipper of her dress.


End file.
